Romance in the Hospital Wing
by Wo Ai Ni16
Summary: Lily & James were not in the friendliest terms in their 7th year. Now, 2 years have passed and Lily, a MediWitch meets James, who is now a famous Auror, again as she saves him from death. And did I mention, she falls madly in love with him in the process?
1. Prologue: A Graduation Ceremony

**Romance In The Hospital Wing **

**by**** Wo Ai Ni16**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

Greetings! After having a major writer's block with my other HP fanfic, "My Fourth Year by Ginny" (I know, shameless self-promotion -___-;; but do check it out ^^ ) I  had a sudden burst of inspiration with this new fanfic, **_Romance In The Hospital Wing_**.  And, no it has nothing to do with Poppy falling hopelessly in love with someone...

But anyways! This is an AU about my favorite HP couple of all time, James and Lily..... some parts may be cannon for all I know, and I may have changed some parts mentioned in the books to fit my plot.  I try to have as an original a plot as possible, but yes, it starts out with the traditional love/hate thing, but after that, loads of original plot (I hope) in store! Please do give this fic a chance, I'm doing all my creativity and literary best here!  

**Summary: Lily and James were not in the friendliest terms in their 7th year... But now, 2 years have passed and Lily, a MediWitch meets James, who is now a famous Auror, again as she saves him from death and nurses him back to health. And did I mention, she falls madly in love with him in the process?  Now the only problems are the war they're in, James' girlfriend, Lily's fiancé, and mean old Voldie chasing after them... **

_On with the Prologue...._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Romance in the Hospital Wing: Prologue**

Festive cheers and music can be heard in the field near Hogwarts' lake, where the Graduation Ceremony was being held.  About a hundred or so families can be found sitting on white chairs chatting with their friends as they waited for the ceremony to commence.  Not even the growing threats of the Dark Lord can dampen the spirits of these people, not counting of course those who were secretly allies of You-Know-Who, for they cannot be happier with the increasing muggle deaths being reported throughout Britain.  

Facing the front of these parents was a large wooden stage, where the Hogwarts staff was seated.  On the left and right of the stage were also two sets of chairs set up for the graduating class of 1976.  Among the teachers seated was the famous Albus Dumbledore, who in the meantime was trying to persuade Professor Minlestone to try a Lemon Drop, for he refused to try anything created by muggles.  As the band started playing their piece, _Pomp and Circumstance_, Albus Dumbledore stood up, and the teachers and families followed suit.  

Coming from the castle were two rows of the soon-to-be witches and wizards walking in a leisure pace towards the ceremony.  In height order, all of the students were wearing long, flowing black robes, with a long sash hanging from their necks of their house's colors.  The students walked through a carpeted aisle through their families.  At this point, flashes of cameras can be seen and parents (mostly the mothers) can be heard crying happily.  Finally, all the students sat in their respective seats and Albus walked up to the podium.  With his magnified voice, he said, "Welcome, parents, friends, teachers, and most of all, the graduating class of 1976."  At this moment he paused as everyone applauded, and a certain group of Gryffindor boys whistled and whooped.   

Professor Dumbledore continued, "I would like to thank each and every one of you for attending our Graduation Ceremony.  Times have been hard and it has been becoming increasingly difficult to celebrate any occasion.  But for now, let us forget our troubles.  Now, Professor McGonagall, shall we present our graduates with their diplomas?" 

Professor McGonagall stood up to the podium and read of the names on the list.  "Ames, Samuel; Avery William..." Each student walked up to Professor Dumbledore, shook his hand, and took their diploma, making them a fully certified witch or wizard.  

"Black, Sirius." A handsome young man stood up proudly, with a comical expression of feigned seriousness.  He received much cheer and whoops from his fellow classmates, not to mention a few boo's from the Slytherin crowd.  

"Evans, Lily."  A pretty petite redhead of 5'3" received her diploma amidst cheers, and catcalls from James Potter.  The latter made Lily blush, though it was more from her indignant anger rather than being flattered.  She quickly took her seat and managed to kick him along the way.  

"Lupin, Remus." Remus Lupin was also, another handsome young man despite the constant tired expression that he always had.  He too, received a round of whoops from his fellow Marauders.  He was the most studious of the group, however, and many people were surprised when James was chosen Head Boy instead of him. 

"Pettigrew, Peter." Alas, the awkward Marauder.  Many of the students never did know why the Marauders chose to include him in their group.  Probably out of pity, many of them believed.  It was obvious that he was the kind of person who tried hard to be popular.  Still, his peers clapped politely for him.  

"Potter, James." Now this young man was also another Marauder.  Along with Sirius, they were the most sought-after boys in their class.  His charms were successful in seducing any woman, apart from Evans.  He made quite a show in receiving his diploma, bowing first to Dumbledore, than twice to his peers and the families in the front.  

"Oh, James, if only your father were here to see this," Mrs. Potter smiled through tears as she hugged her son.  

"I know, I know mom," James patted his mother's head as he hugged her back.  It was actually a funny sight to see, really, James who was 6'2" towered over his mother (5'1"), who only managed to hug him around his chest. 

"Alright, I know I must be embarrassing you now, go on with your friends and meet me back here in thirty minutes." Mrs. Potter said, wiping her tears and blowing her nose with her handkerchief. 

"Thanks mom." James walked off to look for a certain redhead, when he bumped into her.  

"Oomph, Potter, watch where you're going!" A flustered Lily Evans snapped at him. 

"Sorry," he said, scratching the back of his head. _So much for a smooth greeting._ "Well, um.. I just wanted to say that.. uh..." _Dammit, idiot! Say it!  _

Lily looked up at him with slight impatience, nodding her head to prompt him to speak. "What?" 

James just swallowed and said tonelessly, "Um... good luck, Evans." He held out his hand to her. 

Lily's eyes softened.  "Good luck to you, too, James." She shook hands with him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.  

Now that was unexpected.  James stood still, rubbing the spot on his cheek absentmindedly.  _Oh well, so what if I didn't get to tell her, she called me by my first name for the first time and even kissed me... that's good enough, I guess..._  He felt someone smack his back and turned to see Sirius, Remus, and Peter.  

"Did you tell her?" Sirius asked lightly. 

"Nope, but it's okay," James said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself.  "It's not like we can even be together anyway, like there was any chance of it in the first place... especially with us going to be Aurors and all..." 

Sirius clapped his back again in an attempt to cheer him up.  "Who knows," he began happily, "I've heard that Evans is planning to be a MediWitch.  What if you were injured oh-so-terribly in a Death Eater attack and she just happened to be the one who nursed you back to health _and fall madly in love with you in the process?" _

James snorted. "Right, Padfoot, right, and Snape just made an offer of marriage to me five minutes ago." 

Well, let's just say that anything, besides Snape proposing to James of course, _is_ possible.  ; )  

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

Well, what do you think? Please send me reviews, they are really important at this time to see if my fic has a chance of surviving and whatnot.  You may include any grammatical or other opinions/suggestions/criticisms, but flames are just not accepted.  I know that James and Lily were supposed to be on friendly terms by their seventh year, but that is among the changes I've made for my story.... and also, to any James/Severus shippers out there, my apologies for doing that in this prologue; I only did it because I cannot think of any other sarcastic comment, I have no problems with your pairing preference whatsoever.  

The first chapter shall be up and about very soon ^^ 

Until then, Kudos to you for reading this prologue and I hope that you continue reading my fic... Oh and Happy Holidays (this was written on Dec. 25th ^^ ) 

~Wo Ai Ni16 


	2. Aurors and Transfers

**Romance in the Hospital Wing  
by ****Wo Ai Ni16**

* * *

Disclaimer: Eeep! Forgot to put a disclaimer on the prologue! --;; J.K. Rowling forgive me... it was unintentional. As your humble servant, I am doing your fellow readers a favor by writing a fanfic. Some parts are your ideas, such as some of the locations and other details of your cannon characters. Other parts of your plot were twisted by me to make them fit into my fic. Do be kind, and don't sue... I am broke and you're filthy rich.

* * *

**Chapter One: Aurors and Transfers **

_Two years later- First week of August 1978 _

James impatiently tried to blow his hair out of his eyes as he struggled to get into a better position. With one hand gripping his wand tightly and his other arm wrapped around a tree trunk, he desperately tried to steady himself. The pouring rain did not help him keep his balance, with all the mud making him slip to and fro. Squinting his eyes, he tried to peer through a space in the bushes he was hiding in, as he looked out for any Death Eaters. A spy of theirs tipped them off at Headquarters that there was supposed to be a meeting tonight amongst Voldemort's inner circle.

About twenty feet in front of him was Sirius, who was hiding behind a pine tree. They locked eyes and smiled to each other encouragingly, sending each other a silent _good luck_ as they waited.

However, James was not nervous at all. This was his... what... fortieth Auror assignment perhaps? He was pretty famous for his accomplishments, too. He was taught by the great Alastor Moody himself. However, he is no longer the "prick, bullying toe-rag" as Lily Evans described him to be in his fifth year, and a couple of more similar descriptions throughout their time at Hogwarts. James grew up, both physically and mentally. Mentally, meaning that he was more mature and have seen a lot of the world. Physically, meaning that he has very good abs and muscles... I'll leave the rest for your imaginations' entertainment. He never went about in a wizarding village without being bombarded by the media.

As for Sirius, well, the same goes for him. He was also taught by Moody and is known as James' partner when it comes to their missions.

James tensed as he heard voices coming up the path. He saw two Death Eaters walking up, apparently arguing over something. He looked at Sirius and both nodded their heads. 1...2...3... and both of them quickly jumped from their hiding places and stopped in front of the two Death Eaters, wands in dueling stance. The two Death Eaters, who were so absorbed in their argument, stood stupidly as the two Aurors sprang out of nowhere. Not wasting any time, James and Sirius yelled "Stupefy!" in unison. The two Death Eaters quickly fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Well... that was much easier than I expected," Sirius snorted.

"Yeah," James was actually disappointed at the easiness of it all. "Shall I remove their hoods, Padfoot?"

"Go ahead, do the honors," Sirius yawned as he took out a piece of paper to document their findings.

"Okay, Death Eater number one," James said as he removed the black hood off the Death Eater. "Shit! Padfoot, it's Samuel!"

Sirius stumbled from shock, "As in Samuel Ames!?" He peered over James' shoulder to look at the Death Eater's face. "Cripes, it is him! I never would have thought a Hufflepuff like him would be a Death Eater." He shook his head sadly as he wrote the name on the paper. "Who's the other guy?"

"More like woman, I don't know who she is," James said as he pointed to a skinny brunette who looked like she never went outside in the sunshine. "We'll have to bring her into the ministry to get her identified and questioned." Both of the Death Eaters will be sent to a trial, but with Bartemius Crouch, they'll most likely be sent straight to Azkaban.

"Well, let's call it a day, I bet Ameile is already waiting for you at the Headquarters," Sirius teased, as he levitated the two Death Eaters in front of them.

"Yeah, Ameile, right," James said absentmindedly, looking for the portkey he left back in the bushes. "Here's the portkey, Sirius." The two Aurors held on one Death Eater as they touched the portkey simultaneously and felt a pull around their naval.

After a whirl of colors, they appeared at the Headquarters. As they walked in the entrance hall, they saw a young redhead run up to James and hug him tightly. "Ameile! Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Well, I'm sorry to be so worried over you," she said sarcastically. Now, sorry to disappoint you fellows, but no, this redhead isn't Lily. Her full name is Ameile Marie Collins. Let me give you some background information on how she and James met. Well, for starters, both of them are Aurors. To be more specific, James is under the first section of division two. His missions were usually on the field, either trying to capture more Death Eaters during their meetings or battling them and the big guy himself. Ameile on the other hand is part of third section, division six. Aurors like her were spies, always in places in Knockturn Alley to try to find any suspicious people who may be Death Eaters. The two of them met in a dirty pub a year ago where a Death Eater meeting was taking place. James saved Ameile from a rather nasty Cruciatus curse when he pushed her away and took the curse for her. Luckily, a team of reinforcements came to their aid before anything worse happened. So, there was that cliché moment of love at first sight.... well, for Ameile's part at least, she fell head over heels for James instantly... and as for James, he still secretly loved Lily, but he's not going to admit that any time soon.

As excited as you are to go back to the story, let me also give a brief description of how Ameile looks like. She's 5'5", very pretty, with long, braided dark red hair reaching her waist, a fair complexion, some very light freckles on her cheeks, and a thirst for adventure just like her boyfriend. She has an optimistic, but sensible personality, and was Head Girl of her time in Hogwarts, and a year younger than James.

"We have two Death Eaters to send to the Ministry at the moment," Sirius said, motioning to the two unconscious levitating bodies. "One of them is Samuel Ames, a Hufflepuff in our year back in Hogwarts. Do you have any clue what this woman might be?"

Ameile looked warily at the skinny brunette. "I think she may be Jane Higgins, I remember seeing a picture of her in the Daily Prophet once. She's supposed to be missing, but I'm not sure."

Sirius sighed. "Well, I'll just go and take these two to the Ministry. You can go ahead James with Ameile." He said the last part with a knowing wink.

James rolled his eyes and linked arms with Ameile. She never seemed to mind the dirt on his Auror robes, which can never be avoided if you were a Field Auror.

"So," Ameile began, smiling at James. "How does Ice Cream at Florean Fortescue's sound like for tomorrow?"

_St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries_- _Mr. David Aberforth's Private Room_

Lily whistled a happy tune to herself as she walked up the flight of stairs to Mr. Aberforth's private room. The poor sixty-year-old man had such a weak constitution that he was a constant patient of the hospital. His family was wealthy enough to buy him a private room where he could stay. The man refused to allow any nurse take care of him, except for Lily and her friend, Sarah Higgins, who took care of him for the past two years they spent in St. Mungo's as MediWitches.

Lily opened the door and stepped inside the dimly lit room. Flicking her wand to make the light brighter, she opened up the curtains to allow some sunshine in the room.

Stepping up quietly to the old man, Lily whispered, "Mr. Aberforth, please wake up. It's time to take your potion."

The old man slowly opened his eyes and blinked rapidly, adjusting to the brightness. "Ah, my potion. Yes, yes... can you help me up, please?"

Lily put an arm around him as she adjusted the pillows to allow the elderly man to sit up. She handed him the goblet, which he drank quickly so as not to taste the potion's bitterness.

"Thank you, Lily."

"You're welcome, sir." Lily smiled at Mr. Aberforth. She went around to tidy up the room when a knock was heard at the door.

Lily dusted her dark blue uniform as she opened the door.

"Alice! What are you doing here?"

Alice Mapleson was another best friend of Lily's, along with Sarah Higgins. Alice, however, was an Auror. She also knew Mr. Aberforth well; he was actually an uncle of Frank Longbottom, a man she was recently dating.

"Just here for a quick visit. How are you doing, Mr. Aberforth?"

The old man smiled at her. "Fairly well, actually. It's good to see you Ms. Mapleson."

Alice turned to Lily, "Again, I'm just dropping by. Mr. Anderson from the Ministry told me to give this letter to you since I was paying you a visit anyway."

Lily held the letter in her hands. It was made of beige parchment paper, with a red Ministry Seal at the back. "Curious. Do you have any idea what the letter is about?"

Her friend simply shrugged, "I haven't the faintest clue, everything in the ministry has been just hectic with You-Know-Who's attacks here and there." She sat down in a nearby chair. "It just gets harder and harder for us aurors, although Frank, Sirius, and James don't seem to mind. You know how men are."

Lily smiled faintly as she remembered Sirius and James. _The famous Marauders. _ She recalled, remembering their times at Hogwarts. Her thoughts were interrupted as Alice stood up.

"Well, I'd better be going Lily-dear. I'll see you around. And good day to you, too, Mr. Aberforth."

Lily walked up to Alice and gave her friend a quick hug. "Goodbye, Alice, and do take care of yourself. You know I'd die if anything were to happen to you in your missions."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, _mother_," and closed the door on her way out.

Lily sat down in a chair and opened the letter. Written in black ink were the words:

_Lily Evans_

_Mr. David Aberforth's Private Room_

_St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries_

_London_

_Dear Ms. Evans, _

_Due to an increasing number of Death Eater attacks, the ministry has enlarged the Hospital Wing of __Hogwarts__School__ of Witchcraft and _

_Wizardry to house the victims of You-Know-Who's attacks. We must kindly request for you to transfer your services to the Hospital Wing, where _

_there is an increasing number of patients each day. Please pack all your belongings. The Hogwarts staff has agreed to allow the MediWitches _

_their own private rooms in the castle. You will be expected tomorrow, 1 o' clock in the afternoon, at the castle's entrance hall. Please forgive us _

_for this sudden change, but times like these call for us to take drastic measures. _

_ Sincerely yours, _

_Mr. Fitzwilliam Anderson _

_Ministry of Magic- Medical Department _

_Order of Merlin, Third Class_

Lily had to read the letter two more times to comprehend what the ministry was asking her. _Transfer? By tomorrow?_ She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She'd better start packing up now, then, if she was expected by tomorrow in the early afternoon. Packing up won't be too much of a hassle, since she did not have many belongings. It's only Mr. Aberforth she felt sorry for. The poor man was only comfortable around her or Sarah to be his nurse. After two years, and on such short notice, she was expected to leave him so suddenly? _He'll understand_ Lily thought to herself _Besides, Sarah will still be here, he'll be alright._

She was about to tell Mr. Aberforth the news, only to find the man sound asleep, soft snores filling the room. She didn't have the heart to wake him up. She'll just quickly go to her apartment now, pack up, and will just tell him tomorrow in the morning.

Satisfied with her plan, Lily closed the curtains and flicked her wand to dim the lights. _It won't be too bad, I suppose. Hogwarts always made me feel at home, and Sarah will take good care of Mr. Aberforth. _

After she packed up all her belongings and charmed them to fit inside one suitcase, Lily was ready to go to bed. Her last thoughts were about her times in Hogwarts, especially that concerning a certain messy, black-haired bespectacled boy.

-------------------------------o

So what do you guys think, eh? =) I'm really proud of this chapter. I put a lot of work into it. Teehee, I have so many big ideas for this story! I already made an outline of the whole story, so you could say in a way that I finished the backbone of this fic. I will now write my notes, and I hope you guys will take time to read them after every chapter, because they'll hopefully answer your questions and give you hints of what's to come. ; )

Aiii! Thought that the redhead in the first part of the chapter was Lily, didn't you? Don't worry, this won't be a James/OC paring, lol... And no, Ameile is NOT a Mary-Sue. Shame to you people who thought that. XD

Again, here is the complete summary from the prologue for those who skipped it or too lazy to have read it: **Lily and James were not in the friendliest terms in their 7th year... But now, 2 years have passed and Lily, a MediWitch meets James, who is now a famous Auror, again as she saves him from death and nurses him back to health. And did I mention, she falls madly in love with him in the process? Now the only problems are the war they're in, James' girlfriend, Lily's fiancé, and mean old Voldie chasing after them...** LOl, you guys already get a lot of clues from here.... now some of you might say "WHAT?! LILY HAS A FIANCE?" Yes, she does and you guys will meet him in the next chapter =)

In the next chapter:

- We'll see James' life as an Auror and a celebrity

- You guys will get to meet Lily's fiancé ; )

- James and Lily's world will collide when an unfortunate event takes place gasp

**---------------------------------------o**

To my reviewers: Hugs and _Ai _(Chinese for love: Thus my pen name Wo Ai Ni—I love you) for all you guys who reviewed! Reviews are very much appreciated, and will affect if this story will be continued or not =) So keep reviewing, lest you want this author to abandon this story! =P

**Amhta:** Congrats! You're my first reviewer! Thanx sooo much for your review, and I feel the same way: I need good fics to read too! =D The problem with vacations is that you always end up bored =P

**Enno Vy:** Thanks for your review! I have to admit, tenses aren't my best line when it comes to grammar =( I hope you'll pardon me for that ;;;;

**Dangerous Perfection**: Thanks so much for putting my story on your favorites list! Glomp Luv you lots! This is a record for me, I only put up a prologue and already it's on a favorites list! feels special I hope I was able to post up this chapter before you tore yourself to pieces, lol I will do my absolute best for in keeping this story one of your favorites, I have outlined the whole story already =D Thanks again for your review.

**Ella:** Thankiiiii! Yup, I did my best to keep this story very original, which is why I changed how they were supposed to be friendly to each other in seventh year. Now you may be wondering, why was Lily thinking of James at the end of chapter one? Am I not going against my plan of how she is supposed to be unfriendly to him? Well, no actually, because the key word is _friendly_, which does not reflect if she actually loves him or not. You can be in love with someone and unfriendly to them at the same time, ne? Oops, said too much ; )

**tiggerbaby2430:** Oooh! Thanki Thanki! Domo arigatou! (thank you very much in Japanese =P ) I'm very flattered with how you really loved my story from just reading the prologue. I hope you will continue to love it as I update the chapters! And I promise to read those fics of yours as soon as I can! =D

**Tiger Lily21:** Hiiii!!!!!!!! I'm very happy to get a review from you, you're one of my favorite authors! =D And, no, I'm not sucking up to you or patronizing you... I really do love your stories James and Lily are my absolute favorite couple. Oh, and is it okay if you can put me on your author alerts? I'm sorry, but again my email-account is always getting weird on me. I hope that won't be too much of a problem. And I'm a hopeless romantic too! Especially of Lily and James fics! And I can't wait for you Cinderella Sequel! Eeeeeee!!!

**tRuE2U:** Thanks! Hope you love this first chapter and continue reviewing please!

**Lily Natalia Evans:** Actually, I finished the story on the 26th of December... but, I decided not to update it yet... Being the git of an author I am, I wanted to see if more people would review and tell me their opinions of my story But still, I updated fairly quickly, ne? Thanks for your review!

**brooke:** Oooh! Thanks so much for your review! I need the encouragement

I hope all you guys continue reviewing my future chapters!

* * *

Ahem, isn't there something you're forgetting to do? Do your fair share of the bargain and review! (Wooo! That rhymes! =D )


	3. Dates and Surprise Attacks

**Romance in the Hospital Wing  
by ****Wo Ai Ni16**

* * *

**Chapter Two: Dates and Surprise Attacks**

_Saturday, first week of August 1978—__1 o'clock P.M.__: Leaky Cauldron, __London_

Despite his hectic schedule (yes, even Aurors have schedules) James was able to set aside the next day for his date with Ameile. Sometimes he would contemplate his feelings for her. He was sure that what he felt was much more than friendship with Ameile, but was it love? Whenever he would think these things another redhead would always pop into his head. He would then drop the subject and quickly look for something to occupy his confused mind. Nonetheless, he cared about Ameile a lot and never wanted to see her upset. That is why he faced a more than disappointed Alastor Moody when he requested to have Saturday off. It was easy for Ameile to get off easy since there were plenty more Spy Aurors that could fill her in. Field Aurors like James were hard to find nowadays, so it was more difficult for him to get an extra day off.

But now here he was at the Leaky Cauldron, stopping by at the bar since he was a few minutes early. Tom, the innkeeper, was happy to see his friend.

"James! What a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen you around for a long time."

"It's good to see you too, Tom. Moody's been good enough to let me out an extra day."

The elder man nodded his head, as he served a foaming mug to a customer. "Though I'm sure he wasn't so happy to let you off, huh?"

James smiled, "Yeah, but in the end, the guy was good enough to give me a break."

Tom nodded his head as he continued to serve the orders from his customers. "I'm surprised he did that, with all the attacks happening all around the place. Chaos everywhere, I'm telling you." He shook his head sadly. "Not good for business, either. Why, I've been having fewer customers each day. Oh, by the way, would you like something to drink?"

James declined the offer with a wave of his hand, "No thanks, I'm just here for a cordial visit."

A harsh, raspy voice interrupted their conversation, "Excuse me, but can I have another serving of vodka?" The owner of the voice was a hooded man two chairs away from James. He didn't even notice the man was there. James looked at Tom as the elder man frowned.

"I'm sorry sir, but I believe you've had enough," Tom said tentatively.

James frowned too. He didn't like the bad aura coming from the man.

The hooded man simply grumbled and stood up and sat at a far corner of the room. James took a quick glance at his watch and stood up too.

"Excuse me, Tom, but I got to go. I'm going to be late if I don't hurry." Tom nodded his head as James left and went to the back of the inn. Counting the bricks on the wall he tapped his wand and the entrance to Diagon Alley appeared. James started to walk at a brisk pace towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He tried to ignore the excited whispers around him as he passed the numerous shops and stores. _Honestly, I'll never understand what's the big deal..._

As I mentioned before, James was never able to walk through a public place (a magic place that is) without getting unwanted attention from the people. It is not unusual if ten minutes later a reporter or photographer started to bug him, either asking what his latest adventures were like (which James could never describe in detail since all his missions should be kept confidential) or asking him to sign a couple of photographs. He sometimes tried to wear a disguise, but somehow people could always tell it was him. Let's just hope that the media will not ruin his date with Ameile, though some of you readers might just hope that they will, thinking that James should be with Lily in the first place anyway.

James was just about to turn the corner to Florean Fortescue's when he felt a gentle tug at the back of his robes. Turning around, he saw a little girl in ponytails smiling up at him. _Another autograph, I'm sure_, he thought to himself. But how could he resist such a cute little girl? Bending down he reached the little girl's height and asked, "What can I do for you?" The little girl smiled again, revealing one missing front tooth and simply showed James a photograph of himself and shoved a quill in his hand. "Okay, will signing my name be enough?" The girl nodded her head enthusiastically as James quickly signed the picture. She quickly hugged him and skipped into a nearby shop, showing the autograph to a woman who must be her mother.

Now that he was already five minutes late, James finally rounded the corner and reached the ice cream parlor. Upon seeing a redhead, he quickly walked up to her and covered her eyes. "Guess who?" He whispered in her ear.

Ameile snorted, "Honestly, James, the game's getting old. And you're five minutes late."

James took a seat across from her. "A little girl asked for an autograph, how could I resist?"

"Fine, fine. Anyway, I ordered you a strawberry sundae."

"Thanks." James looked around at his surroundings. The ice cream parlor rarely changed, except for the notices the Ministry posted: _Bellatrix__ Black, Wanted_; _Due to the increasing number of attacks, the Ministry is enforcing a curfew..._ He then noticed a certain, dark, hooded man. _Isn't he the guy from the Leaky Cauldron? _James frowned, but couldn't help feeling shivers go down his spine. Maybe he's just being paranoid.

"Something wrong?" Ameile asked, sipping her milkshake.

"It's nothing... but, is it me, or is it getting colder?"

A waiter came up to them and said, "Here's your strawberry sundae, Mr. Potter." He was about to hand James' order over when a blinding green light came from no where, forcing James to close his eyes tight against the brightness. He could hear people screaming around him. When he opened his eyes, he saw the waiter lying down lifeless, his eyes open wide in horror.

"Oh shit! Ameile, are you alright?" Ameile was thoroughly shaken, but quickly nodded her head. Both of them took out their wands.

"James," Ameile said, looking somewhere behind him.

"What?" He turned around and saw dementors, dozens of them, with even more Death Eaters starting to apparate. People began screaming and running for their lives. Some were smart enough and disapparated, but the rest could not, unable to leave their children behind. Beams of light in different colors were flying throughout the air as witches and wizards started to shout curses and hexes.

"Morsmorde!" Someone near them shouted. It was the hooded man that James had seen in the Leaky Cauldron. _Damn, I should've known better_, James cursed to himself.

Ameile began to stupefy a couple of approaching Death Eaters. James hexed a couple more himself and produced a patronous to ward off some dementors. He quickly grabbed Ameile's wrist and dragged her with him throughout the chaos.

"James, let me go! I will help you fight them off, I'm an auror too!" Ameile shrieked indignantly.

"There's no way I'm going to allow you to risk your life here!" He yelled back. He dragged her even more forcefully to an alley when he felt her hand slip off his girp. "Once more, Ameile, I'm not going to–" All the color drained from his face when he found Ameile lying two feet behind him. Someone must have sent a curse at her.

"No, no, no!" He quickly felt for her pulse. She was alive.

"James! Is that you?" James looked up to see Frank Longbottom looking down at him. "Frank! I'm so happy to see you, it's Ameile, she's been–"

"Say no more, I'll take her to St. Mungo's," Frank bent down and held Ameile's limp body in his arms.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now go!" Frank quickly apparated while James went back out in the streets and into the chaos.

_12 noon__: St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries—Mr. David Aberforth's Private Room_

Lily hugged Sarah for the third time in the past hour. Sarah was never good in saying good-bye. And now that Lily was leaving going to leave for Hogwarts' Hospital Wing, she could not look at Lily without getting teary-eyed. She's quite the drama-queen, crying over the silliest things. Nevertheless, she was Lily's best friend (along with Alice) and Lily tried her best to cheer her up. "Come on, Sarah, it's not as if we're saying good-bye forever. I'll see you in a month, maybe even sooner!"

"A month!? Lily, that's too long!" Sarah buried her face in her white apron, part of the St. Mungo's uniform, as fresh tears started to roll down her cheeks. Her dark brown curls shook as her shoulders moved along with her sobs.

"Well, Ethan, you can't say I didn't try," Lily said as she turned to the man next to her. The tall gentleman smiled down at her sympathetically. He looked like a twenty-one-year-old version of Mr. David Aberforth, with straight light-brown hair, and twinkling blue eyes. His name is Ethan Aberforth, the son of David Aberforth, and as you folks might have guessed, he's Lily's fiancé. And just like what I have done with Ameile and James, let me give you background information on how Lily and Ethan got together.

They met around two years ago, with Lily fresh out of Hogwarts and a new MediWitch in St. Mungo's. Mr. Aberforth senior was her first patient, and Lily treated him well. That is when she met Ethan, a young handsome man who was worried sick over his father. He would visit him everyday, from 6 to 8 in the evening. And just like how Ameile fell for James, Ethan immediately fell head over heels for the MediWitch who took such great care of his dad. Romantic, don't you think? ;; [note: the author is laughing hysterically at his point] The thing is, Mr. David Aberforth was never the healthiest man and in a few weeks, he had to go back to the hospital. He was such a constant patient that the family decided to buy him a private room where he could stay. This somehow made Ethan happy, although he's too ashamed to admit it, since he will be able to see Lily practically everyday. Sometimes the two would talk together, and they quickly became friends. Ethan just gave it a couple of more months, and he finally popped the question. Lily was, to say the least, surprised but accepted his proposal all the same. Did she truly love him, though? Lily would never admit it, but every time she thought of love, James would always appear on her head. -Sigh- Our poor confused characters... will they ever get it straight and end up with the right person? Well, this author is determined to do just the thing. Now, on with the story!

Lily hugged her fiancé once and walked over to Mr. Aberforth senior and did the same. The elder man smiled up at her and kissed her on the forehead. "You take care of yourself, now. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my future daughter-in-law."

"I'll be fine, Mr. Aberforth, and I'm sure you'll be fine too, Sarah is here to take care of you."

Her future father-in-law smiled at her and gave her a pat on the back.

Lily turned to Ethan, "Well, I suppose we should get going now. Better early than late."

Upon hearing this Sarah gave an all-out wail and flung herself on Lily. Lily saw Ethan roll his eyes behind her. It was hard for Lily to keep her patience with Sarah sometimes. She can be so childish! "Honestly, Sarah! I'll be fine, and you'll be alright! And Alice will always visit you, don't cry so much!"

"Okay, fine, go! But promise me you'll write at least once a week, and do visit me before August is over!"

Lily took this chance to grab her suitcase (all her belongings were charmed to fit in it) and hooked arms with Ethan and waved goodbye before disapparating to Hogsmeade.

_Hogsmeade__: __12: 45 pm_

Upon reaching Hogsmeade, the couple walked at a brisk pace towards Hogwarts. It was easy to find their way to Hogwarts; just simply follow the roads that will take you closer to the humongous castle.

Ten tiring minutes later, they were able to walk up the castle's front steps to find Filch waiting outside for them in front of the wooden doors.

"Lily Evans," Filch said in a raspy voice. "You're early, but no matter. I'm here to escort you to the Hospital Wing. But the man, he has to go. Dumbledore's strict orders."

Ethan stiffened as he heard this, but just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye now," Lily said sadly.

"Yeah, well, you go on ahead. Don't fall in love with anyone while I'm away, okay?" He added the last part jokingly.

Lily snorted, thinking that the whole idea was absurd. "Goodbye, Ethan, I promise to write to you as much as I can." And with a quick kiss on the lips, she followed Filch to the Hospital Wing.

"I have to warn you, it's pretty chaotic in there... lots of patients for the first week the Wing's been opened to public patients," Filch muttered. He was considerably nicer to Lily since she helped him in her younger years at Hogwarts (before she was on friendly terms with James). She had always helped him catch the Marauders after their pranks.

He left her in front of the Wing while he gave her suitcase to a house elf to be left in her chambers.

The caretaker was right, because the moment Lily opened the door, it looked like chaos. She could hear sobbing and screaming everywhere. Many MediWitches in mahogany red uniforms were running around, trying to attend to all the patients. Some parts of their bodies were mangled, and Lily winced when she saw a little boy with an arm missing.

A familiar-looking woman came up to her. It was Madam Pomfrey. "Evans! There you are. Just what I need. I need you to quickly attend to a patient. Don't mind about your uniform now, just use a sterilizing charm." She quickly ushered Lily to one end of the wing, in front of a group of white curtains. "Well, here's your first patient. It's terrible, absolutely terrible, a day attack just occurred in Diagon Alley. Oh, what this world has gone to." The Head MediWitch kept muttering to herself.

Lily looked at the white curtain in front of her. _This, and only my first day on the job._ With a deep breath, she opened the curtains and stepped inside. "_Manus Sterilus_," Lily muttered as she felt her hands cool as they were sterilized. She cautiously walked up to the patient and looked down at her. The woman was probably her age, maybe a year or two younger. Lily gently pulled down the blanket that was covering the patient to get a better look. The woman's eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow. She was actually really pretty, if it weren't for the nasty bruise on her left temple. Lily felt for the woman's pulse. Upon her touch, the woman's eyelids opened, revealing beautiful light blue eyes. She looked up at Lily, who smiled down at her.

"If you can, can you please tell me your name?" Lily asked kindly.

The reply was barely more than a whisper, but Lily's sharp ears were able to hear what the young redhead said. "Ameile Marie Collins."

-------------------------------o

Hiya people! Whadddya think? Oh by the way, a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR! to you all! =) Oops, before I say anything else, I made a mistake in chapter one, where I gave Ameile a description.. at first I put that she's a redhead, but in the description I accidentally wrote that she had dark brown hair =( -grabs pillow and smacks herself repeatedly - Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! –sigh- Now that that's out of my system... on with the author notes!

-Dun dun duuuuuuun Lily and Ameile meet! How will she react if she finds out that Ameile's James' girlfriend? O.o

-Will James be alright? =( I hope so...

-How will James react if he sees Lily?

-Will Lily still have that old hostility towards James or will she forget their past differences?

All for you guys to find out in the next chapter! Speaking of my next update... you guys might have to wait until next Friday... now that vacation's gonna be over, i have a load of schoolwork to catch up on... please forgive me =

To all of my reviewers:  I'm glad you guys liked my fic... I'm curious to see what you guys think of my OC's (original characters). I did my best not to make them cliché... not to mention that I also did my best to give them "British names"

**---------------------------------------o**

To my reviewers:

**ThreeEaredBunny****:** Oh my! I forgot to include my response to your review in the first chapter... somehow I skipped it, so sorry! Anywho, thanks for your review and your compliments, I appreciate it a lot! I hope you update UR fanfic soon

**princessemily****:** Thanks for your review... continuing Although you might have to wait for next Friday for my next update =(

**ThreeEaredBunny****:** I'm so happy you like my story so much =) and my writing style, I wasn't sure if people will like it or not.... and I whole-heartedly agree: Lily and James forever! Woooooo!

**tRuE2U:** That is a good suggestion.. hmm..... will they end up together or not? I'll never teEelll =P Thanx!

**auroraborealis****:** Aw, that's not a stupid question at all! I didn't even know myself until maybe two months ago.. and I've been on for a looong time.. it's hard for me to explain, so here's a definition I got from a website: A mary-sue is like an author's self-insertion of himself/herself in his/her story. Mary-sues are original characters that are usually perfect, make the story corny (in my humble opinion), and just make you want to tear your hair off in frustration =P

**ShangLady**** Knight:** Thankiii! I really need the encouragement.

**Snapple:** Oh, sorry about that, the website automatically spaces it out that way... dunno why, exactly scratches head

**Tiger Lily21:** For me, no couple is better than Lily and James! Tee hee =) (although i do wish that James was mine! LOL)

**toriisen****:** Thank you so much for your review! =D

**mintytoothpick****:** I hope it gets better, lol. I'm doing my absolute best!

**Tanya J Potter:** Thanks for your review, I hope you like this chapter too

**h-ermione-g-ranger64:** Lol, yea I did put that foreshadowing in the prologue to give people a hint (although the summary really gives it away).. I love Sirius... why did he have to die? =(

**princessemily****:** Yes indeed, what do you think about Ethan? =P I did finish the backbone, although the actual chapters themselves I have yet to write =X

**BiNka****:** This is still pretty quick compared to the usual time it takes me to update... usually every weekend I will update my fics =)

**munkylover256:** Thanks for your review, I hope you like this chapter Keep reviewing, please

**ButterflyKisses****:** LOL, I can't believe people do not like Lily's fiancé even when they haven't met him yet. tsk tsk... poor Ethan, he feels so unloved -hugs a sad Ethan- What do you think of him now?

**Hp-Azn:** Oooh thanki! I hope you like this chapter too

**Lily Natalia Evans:** LOL, well now that you met him, what do you think about Lily's fiancé?

**FallenFlower****:** I'm glad you love it, I hope you continue to review!

**Indiangurl****: **Thanks so much for your review, I'm glad you're going to let James shine soon, he's one of my favorite characters! I hope you update your story soon!

**Dangerous Perfection:** I'm glad you liked the first chapter, how about this one? =)

**Nicole Kim:** Wow! I can't believe people love this fic so much (and only 2 chapters!) I hope you will continue loving it! Keep reviewing, please! =D

**pinkoceanmist****:** I hope this was soon enough for your liking and that you will continue reviewing... LOL I never thought of it as a cliffie =P

Thanks for all of you people who put my story on their favorites list and/or put me on their favorite authors list! I love you guys!

* * *

Review please! =)


	4. Witch Weekly's 1st Eligible Bachelor?

**Romance in the Hospital Wing  
by ****Wo Ai Ni16**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Witch Weekly's #1 Eligible Bachelor? **

_Saturday; first week of August 1978 __–2 o'clock P.M.__: Hogwart's Hospital Wing_

Lily wiped her forehead with the side of her sleeve and sat down in an empty chair. She took a good look at Ameile, whose wounds she just finished treating and was currently sleeping soundly. It was amazing how much they looked like each other. One can even mistake them for sisters, unlike Petunia who looked nothing like her. Ameile almost seemed like an identical twin, except that she had blue eyes, and her auburn hair was slightly lighter and straighter. Standing up, Lily decided to ask Madam Pomfrey if there were any relatives or friends waiting for Ameile.

"Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes, Ms. Evans?"

"I finished treating Ameile Collins. Are there any relatives of hers waiting for her?"

Checking the list of the patients signed into the Wing, Madam Pomfrey said "Not at the moment dear. An Auror quickly left her here; he had to go back to help with the attack. Frank Longbottom is his name." She pointed at his name on the list of people who brought the patients in.

"Frank?" Lily said this more to herself than to Madam Pomfrey.

"You know him, dear?"

"Yes, actually. So I suppose that they will just come back once the attack is over?"

The Head MediWitch nodded in reply.

Lily looked at the clock on the wall. It was already 2:15 and the attack started around an hour ago. She sighed in worry and wondered if Frank was still fighting there, and if Alice joined to fight, praying that they and the rest of the aurors would be alright.

"Are there any other patients I can help with?" Lily asked Madam Pomfrey. The latter shook her head.

"It's alright dear, I think all the other MediWitches have it under control. We'll get busy again when the wave of wounded aurors comes after the attack is over."

This did not help in Lily's worry for Frank and Alice one bit. Turning around, she walked back to Ameile's bed and sat back on her chair. Looking for something to pass the time, Lily spotted a Witch Weekly's magazine on a table nearby. She reached to hold the copy and almost fell off the chair at the sight front cover. In big, bold letters was the title: _Witch Weekly (teens version), Special Issue: Top 100 Eligible Bachelors_. And covering most of the remaining space was a picture of the number one bachelor, as most of you most likely guessed—James Potter. Now it had been two years and Lily never saw him since Graduation. But by looking at his picture, the first word that came into her mind was _wow_. Some of you readers might be wondering now "But you said that James was a celebrity, so wouldn't Lily have seen his picture on a magazine or newspaper in the last two years that have passed?" My answer to that would have to be: Well, our ickle Lily here isn't much of a reader when it comes to celebrity gossip and whatnot. And she refuses to read the Daily Prophet anymore; all the reports of muggle killings and attacks were very unsettling to her.

Right now the face of our dearest Lily is reddening like a ripe tomato. Lily was quite ashamed at herself, having such a reaction just by a simple picture of a guy. _Why would I be bothered by just a simple picture of a guy? Well, alright, a very handsome guy, but honestly!_ Lily shook her head in disgust and closed her eyes, refusing to look at James Potter's picture. _And a picture of James Potter no less! Lily, shame on you. He's that annoying git, remember? The one who constantly bothered you in school and has no concerns for the feelings of others?...okay fine, I suppose he did_ _improve a** little** bit in seventh year, but for all you know it could have just be a façade! Alright, now when you open your eyes and look at his picture you will not blush. _She opened her eyes and looked down. The picture-James winked at her and grinned very..erm.. sexily. Once again the heat rose in her cheeks. _Dammit, I'm still blushing! _ [A/N: if you guys didn't guess by now, italics in these situations are the P.O.V's of the character or conversations that the character has with his/her "inner voice"...alright? Hope I didn't confuse you.]

Lily then read the words at the bottom of the front cover: "Includes pictures of each bachelor and an interview section!" Lily frowned in thought once again. She was very tempted to go and read to see what the "git" was doing now. _I shouldn't read these kinds of things though, I'm more sensible than this. Magazines like this are for heartsick teenagers. How could people think of bachelors when so many bad things are going on in __Britain__? And plus, what if I'm caught, people would think that I like Potter or something. _She rolled her eyes at her own paranoid self. _What am I talking about, I'm no longer in school, and it's not as if my (former) classmates are even here! I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a little look. _ With her decision made up, she opened the front cover and was given the table of contents. Skimming down the list she saw what she had been looking for "Front Page: James Potter, #1 Bachelor- page 36."

Flipping through the pages she finally found the page.

At the top was the title "James Potter #1 Bachelor" and below it was the same picture on the front cover of James in a classy, long-sleeved black collared shirt. His hair was the same as ever. _Well some things don't change,_ Lily thought. He looked more mature though, but his hazel eyes still held the same confident, ever-mischievous glint in them. The picture-James smiled up at her and waved. There were also a couple of other pictures of James, one in Quidditch robesat his seventh year in Hogwarts, and another in formal robes, probably in some celebrity social function.

Lily began reading the interview section:

> Hey guys! Sonya Patil, your fellow reporter here. Well, I was lucky enough to interview our favorite and celebrity, and top auror, James Potter this past Saturday.
> 
> Me: First off, thanks very much for giving us your time. We know you must be busy, with all these attacks nowadays.
> 
> James: (with a charming smile) It's no problem. I'm very happy to be here.
> 
> Me: Let me cut to the question all of your fans are dying to know, are the rumors true that you have a girlfriend?
> 
> James: As a matter of fact, yes.
> 
> Me: The next most popular question: who?
> 
> James: (laughing) I'm afraid I can't tell you. She made me promise not to tell anyone, afraid that she will start getting howlers and curses from my fans.
> 
> Me: (smiles) Well she is very smart then, I can be sure that your fans won't be too happy with the news and might try to do some... not so good things to her. Now for the next question how do you feel about being an auror and a celebrity at the same time? It is odd, isn't it, that your job involves so much secrecy and yet you are such a famous celebrity?

Lily jumped in her seat as a voice suddenly gasped, "James!" She quickly placed the magazine on the table, scared of being caught reading such a magazine. Lily looked around, thinking at first that a MediWitch looking through the opened curtains saw her, but realized that it was Ameile. She rushed to her patient's side, to find Ameile's eyes open in shock and confusion.

"Ms. Collins! You're awake! You're in Hogwart's Hospital Wing, remember? Frank Longbottom, an auror, brought you from the attack here. You'll be alright, don't worry," Lily said. But now she was wondering what Ameile meant by 'James', was he another James perhaps? At first she thought that Ameile caught her reading the magazine and was referring to James Potter, but she must be talking about another James. After all it was a common name...

Ameile looked at her, frowning in confusion. "Frank? Why would Frank bring me, unless..." Ameile groaned. "The idiot! I told him I would help him!"

Lily placed her hands on Ameile's shoulders and lightly shook her, "Calm down, Ms. Collins! Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine." Lily did not understand, however, what Ameile was talking about, and was now utterly confused. "What's his full name? Perhaps I can ask someone to find this James for you. But you mustn't go back to help, you need rest."

Ameile was adamant, "No! I have to help! You don't understand, I'm an auror too, and...." Ameile's eyes suddenly drooped and collapsed back onto the bed, fast asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. Lily tutted, "I told you that you needed your rest."

Lily felt sorry for Ameile. She must be very worried for whoever that James person is. _Probably her boyfriend. If so, I hope he's alright. How nice, the way Ameile seems to truly love him. I'm sure they would be very happy together. _She looked around at the time at the clock, "It's almost three already." Just then, another MediWitch around her age walked up to her.

"You're Lily, right?" The blonde-haired witch asked.

"Yes. Can I help you with something?"

"My name's Megan Stevens," she said quickly, shaking her hand in introduction. "Madam Pomfrey sent me to ask you to help the other MediWitches downstairs."

"Downstairs? What could they be doing down there?"

Megan smiled wryly. "The attack at Diagon Alley just finished. There are lots of wounded aurors down there and we need help levitating them up here."

"Oh! Of course I'll help you. But who shall look over my patient?" Lily said, motioning her hand to Ameile.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there will be other MediWitches up here to take care of her." She took a hold of Lily's hand and led her downstairs.

_St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries—__3:00 P.M._

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT HERE?!"

"James, please, calm yourself."

Other people in the waiting room looked at the couple. A tall dark-haired man in bloody auror robes can be seen screaming at the cowering secretary at the desk. A young woman his age, also looking disheveled in her torn auror robes was patting his back and trying to calm him down- to no avail.

James turned angrily at the young woman by his side, his face a burning crimson in fury. "Calm down?! Alice, MY BLOODY GIRLFRIEND IS MISSING AND YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?!" He turned sharply back at the secretary. "Look here, a man named Frank Longbottom told me that he is brining her here! It's impossible that she's not here! Check the bloody list again!" The secretary whimpered and looked back at the list of admitted patients again.

Alice muttered under her breath hotly, "Well I'm glad to see you're worried about my fiancé, too."

James heard this and softened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. But I'm sure that Frank is alright..." James then noticed something. "Wait a second! Fiancé? He proposed to you?" Despite the current situation he smiled down at Alice proudly. "Congrats, Alice."

Alice blushed in embarrassment, but could not help but show her hand to James, revealing the silver diamond ring. "Yes, he just proposed last night."

A timid voice interrupted them as the secretary spoke, "If you excuse me, Mr. Potter, she's really not on the list but I think I may know where Ameile Collins may be."

It was Alice's turn to respond to the secretary, "Where? Where else could they have gone?"

The secretary cleared her throat as she said, "St. Mungo's currently cannot hold any more patients. Instead, we are bringing the rest of the patients to the Hospital Wing in Hogwarts. Frank Longbottom may have admitted her there instead."

Alice brought her hand to her forehead in comprehension, "Of course! I've heard Frank telling me about that place before." She held James' hand. "Come on James, let's apparate there, I'm sure Frank and Ameile are both in the Hospital Wing." James, however, was still confused. "I don't get it, why Hogwarts of all places?"

"Never mind that, let's just go." Taking a hold of his hand, they apparated together.

_Hogwarts__Hospital__ Wing—__3:40 P.M._

Lily wiped her forehead at the back of sleeve for the umpteenth time that day, tired from rushing up and down the stairs, levitating as many aurors as she can. By this time, her heart was pounding frantically in worry for Frank and Alice. Back in St. Mungo's she never really did any strenuous work nor had any very gruesome patients, but she finally realized now the horrors of war. Most of the aurors were in such bad shape. Some looked like mangled dolls, with their limbs twisted in odd angles. But the things that frightened Lily the most were not the aurors, but the innocent bystanders that were caught in the middle of the fight. The most heart-wrenching thing she saw was a hysterical toddler crying and holding onto her dead mother. Lily felt tears go down her eyes and just hoped that Frank and Alice were in better shape than the lot that she was taking care of now.

She walked over and placed the auror she was levitating onto an empty cot. Behind her, Megan sat down and took a quick breather.

Lily looked at her newfound friend and cried, "I can't believe all this. Even in St. Mungo's I never encountered something as bad as this."

Megan tried to smile comfortingly. "Yes, this is the worst attack I've ever seen. People hysterical everywhere. My goodness, I even saw a couple of MediWitches back there trying to get a headless man to calm down. Apparently a Death Eater in the attack thought it would be funny to splinch his head somewhere else. The MediWitches are trying to ensure him that they are searching for his head, wherever that may be."

Lily shuddered at the thought of losing her head. The two MediWitches sat back to take a quick break when they heard someone shout somewhere down the ward, "GET OFF ME! I'M NOT HERE TO BE TREATED, I'M LOOKING FOR AMEILE!"

Megan frowned in disgust, "Who's that man? Honestly, the nerve of him, he's just going to make all the patients panic."

Lily frowned too. _His voice sounds familiar.._ "Wait a second, I think he's looking for my patient, Ameile."

"Hmph, worried or not, I'm going over there to talk to that man and shut him up. He's going to cause an uproar if he goes on like that." Megan stood up and began to walk down the ward, towards the owner of the voice. Lily decided to follow.

They saw a man arguing as Madam Pomfrey tried to take a hold of him. The man's back was facing them, but from what Lily could judge from his robes, he was an auror, and a very angry one at that.

Again and again, James tried to get Madam Pomfrey away from him. The mad woman was trying to cast a healing charm on his arm for crying out loud!

"If you would just stop fidgeting," the Head MediWitch said impatiently, "I can heal all these wounds on your arm!"

James shook his arm away from her. "Don't you get it?! I'm not here to be treated, I'm looking for Ameile! She was supposedly admitted here over two hours ago!"

Madam Pomfrey finally stopped. "Ameile? Ameile Collins is her name?"

James sighed, "Yes! Now can you please take me to her?!"

Standing ten feet behind them, Megan cleared her throat and said, "If you excuse us sir, I will gladly bring you to this Ameile Collins. But for bloody crying out loud, stop shouting! You're disrupting the peace and if you do not calm down I will be forced to place a silencing charm on you."

Lily smiled beside her friend. _Just trust Megan to take care of these situations_. She smiled at her friend proudly.

The man finally turned around and both witches took a step back in shock, for different reasons. Megan was in shock that she spoke against a famous celebrity, a celebrity in fact, that she secretly fantasizes of dating. Lily on the other hand, felt a lump in her throat as she looked into the same hazel eyes that were the live version of the picture she was looking in _Witch Weekly_ just about two hours ago. After about ten seconds of awkward silence:

"Evans? Is that you?" An unbelieving James Potter said. He smiled that charming smile Lily knew all too well. She inwardly groaned and felt the heat rush to her cheeks and was embarrassingly aware of how disheveled she must have looked at the moment. Her hair was messy and she had a sweaty appearance from rushing all around the castle so much. Not that James was any better, but he looked handsome even when his robes were torn and bloody.

Megan finally composed herself and cleared her throat again, "So, shall I lead you to Ms. Collins?"

-------------------------------o

Hi everyone. Sorry for the one-day delay. This chapter took longer than I anticipated, but here you go. What do you think?

LOL, I hope my style of putting people's thoughts in italics doesn't confuse you. I just prefer using them rather than the regular quotes. =) What do you guys think of the _Witch Weekly_? I have to say, I loved writing that part. I actually find it funny, how Lily turned down James' begging for dates in their school years, only to find out that he will become the Most Eligible Bachelor! =P Lily's in for a big shock at finding that _the _James Potter is the James that Ameile was talking about. Ha! What irony.

Well, go ahead and review. I hope I'll get a lot of reviews for this one! I worked really hard, thus the delay. And if you think that this chapter is fun, this is just the beginning, LOL -wink- Expect my next update next Friday or Saturday and if the worst happens, Sunday =( I'm sorry to say that this is how often I will update from now on. =

**---------------------------------------o**

To my reviewers:

**h-ermione-g-ranger64:** LOL, that is sooo true. Me wuved Sirius.. correction, i still wuv Sirius =) LOL and about Ameile getting jealous over James, let's just see what happens. And Ethan, hahaha, soooo many people dislike him already! LOL Pooor Ethan =D But yes, Lily and James should be together

**Tiger Lily21:** I know, right? Whenever I update, takes such a looong time to actually put my fic on the list of L/J fics =( It's annoying! That's why I have to wait for about a day to actually start getting reviews =P And about Ethan and Ameile, lots of people are thumbs up for them. We'll just have to wait and see =)

**Lily Natalia Evans:** Hahahaha =D Everyone really hates that guy, don't they? And you're right, Lily and Ethan's relationship is awkward, I mean, falling in love with the nurse whose taking care of your dad! I actually think of it romantic, in a cute, funny way

**loser-me-ushi:** Heeehee, well, they do sorta meet. But Ameile's kinda unconscious right now, so they did not get to talk to each other yet =P Aww, our poor Lily, finding that James has a girlfriend.. that looks a lot like her, no less... that is kinda unsettling for Lily, don't you think?

**ThreeEaredBunny:** Hi hi! that is so true, I couldn't have said it better ; )

**cxigner:** LOL, well, your wish is fulfilled! Lily does get to see how.. erm.. hotter James had gotten! LOL _Witch Weekly's #1 Bachelor_ ain't that funny. I mean, what a way to finally get to see the guy you haven't seen in two years. Hm.. I would be frustrated, turning down a guy's offers of dates and he turns out to be the Wizarding World's Most Eligible Bachelor later!

**simply irresistible:** Yup, it has been very constructive, thanx very much! I'm sad that I won't be hearing from you for awhile, I hope you'll review again soon

**yeen:** Hiya! Again, I'm sorry for the delay.. I do hope you got to read it soon because I know it takes a while before actually posts the newly-updated fics. = Yes, my story is indeed an AU (forgot to mention that sweatdrop) But I'm glad to hear that you think that I made it real enough, that's what I always aim for =) And yes, Ameile is our other dear redhead, looks a lot like Lily actually, as I described in the beginning of this chapter... hmm (sarcastically) now why would James date her? LoL

**chunhaiping:** Aiya, sorry but I'm not a hundred percent Chinese... although my grandfather was part Chinese =) I hope that doesn't change your opinion on me, I do love anything Japanese, but I made my name Chinese in honor of the tiny Chinese part of me Isn't ni haw hello? I'm not sure what the "ma" part is though.. sorry! And to answer any other question, I'm not Japanese either =( unfortunately. I'm only a mere Japanese wannabe =D

**Hp-Azn:** Oye! Wassup? =) Heehee, I luv Beyonce! She rocks! LOL, don't worry James is fine... I think. The poor guy, he's so worried about Ameile, ain't that cute? LoL, if only there were guys like him actually exist in the world =P Review pleeeaase

**Padfoot103:** Thanks! Sorry for the one-day delay, but here it is!

**shell:** Thanks for loving me story! Heehee, well they finally met! =P

**Elspeth Renee:** Woo! Well, here is the chapter, and it does seem that all of my chapters are getting increasingly longer LOL

**Fir3fly:** Hi Hi, greetings, salutations, all that good stuff Unfortunately, I don't understand Chinese (I only know "wo ai ni" and "ni haw" for crying out loud!) Look at my response to chunhaiping up there I hope this update is quick enough.. school's been getting in the way =( I'm in a magnet school and it's hard for me -sniff sniff- But anyways! I hope you like my story (I guess you do, considering you reviewed! =P ) And I gotta say, I luuuuuuuuuuv ur story "Sacrifices for Love" it's original n also on of my favs Update that fic soon too! =D

**FrEgOrGeLuVeR225:** LoL I decided to copy and paste your name here because it would've taken me too long to type it! =D Thx for your review! Can you rate my story? one-lowest and ten-being the highest?

**pink-ocean-mist: **Hiiiiii! Don't worry I don't mind how late anyone's reviews are, the best thing is that they do review! I hope you don't get into to trouble reading at the computer. I can't blame ya, fanfics are soooo addicting! =D

**Dangerous Perfection: **Hey! Thx for your review, and I hope this update was soon enough

* * *

Review please!


	5. What Do You Think You're Doing?

**Romance in the Hospital Wing   
by ****Wo Ai Ni16**

**Chapter Four: What Do You Think You're Doing?! **

* * *

_Saturday; First Week of August 1978: __3:45 P.M._

Megan finally composed herself and cleared her throat again, "So, shall I lead you to Ms. Collins?"

"Yes!" James replied emphatically, following Megan at a brisk pace. Lily, still dumbfounded, walked behind both of them, leaving Madam Pomfrey muttering to herself about stubborn aurors.

Lily's mind was in overdrive, trying to comprehend the present situation. After over two years James finally shows up. A myriad of emotions went through her, the most dominant ones being confusion and overwhelming curiosity of James and Ameile's relationship. In the meantime, she felt over-conscious of herself, trying to brush away and tuck stray strands of hair and muttering a quick _Scorgio_ charm to clean her dirty uniform. Somehow Lily also felt slightly annoyed at Megan_. I mean, Megan is acting as if she is Ameile's nurse, the nerve of her! Ameile is my patient, not Megan's, and _I_ should be the one to lead James to his girlfriend_. Lily shook her head vigorously at the thought. _Oh my goodness, no, scratch that.. what am I saying? Girlfriend? No, I'm assuming things. For all I know, they're just simple close auror partners or something...yes that's it.. partners.. nothing more. Not that I care of course, I mean for James to actually associate with someone as decent as Ameile is beyond me. _(A/N: #1).

"Here she is," Megan whispered, drawing back the white curtains. He quickly stepped inside and Megan allowed herself a few feet away from the white curtains to give them some privacy. Lily, however, feeling that it was her obligation as Ameile's MediWitch, stepped inside along with James.

James knelt beside Ameile and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. Her breathing was low and even. "Is she going to be alright?" He whispered, turning to Lily.

"Y-yes. I believe she was just hit with a simple hex to absorb away her energy. She should be fine with a couple of day's rest." Lily forced a comforting smile, although there were tears behind her eyes...and for what reason, she wasn't so sure...

"Thanks, Evans, for taking care of her," James said, turning back to Ameile to give her a quick kiss on her cheek before standing up.

After a several moments pause: "Do you, I mean, have you by any chance seen Alice? Was she in the fight?" Lily's voice was full of worry as she asked.

James smiled, "Yeah, she was in the attack, but don't worry; she's alright. As a matter of fact she was with me when I arrived in the Wing...but I somehow lost track of her when I was too busy yelling at Madam Pomfrey." He scratched his head in embarrassment and smiled sheepishly.

If they had been in a lighter situation, Lily would have laughed at James' old habits. She replied, saying, "Then she must be with Frank. He arrived about ten minutes before you guys arrived. Nothing too serious though, that a little Skele-Grow won't fix."

Lily smiled back, but couldn't help but notice the bloodstain in the chest area of James' auror robes. She could've sworn that it was much smaller a couple of minutes ago.. "Potter, are you bleeding?" She frowned and pointed to the bloodstain currently spreading very rapidly throughout his chest.

"What?" James looked down, "Oh, that. It's just a little scratch."

"You haven't changed, have you? 'Little scratch' my arse, if I don't fix that up now you could bleed to death! Now come here with me." She quickly grabbed his wrist and led him to a nearby cot in white curtains, just like Ameile's. Megan stared after them in confusion. To any passerby it could have looked like Lily was leading him to some dark corner to snog or something...

Lily pushed him behind the curtains. "Sit," she instructed him, while sterilizing her hands and taking a bottle of wound-healing potion from a cabinet.

James rolled his eyes and laughed, "You thought that I was a dog or something, ordering me around like that."

Lily scoffed in return. "Take off your robes," she said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," James smirked.

"Potter! There's no time to be immature right now, just take off your robes and let me put this potion on you! Honestly, you can bleed to death, I'm not joking!"

"Alright, alright." James decided to follow her orders and lied on the cot. "Now that you mention it, I do feel kind of dizzy."

"That's one of its symptoms, James. Now help me unbutton these robes of yours."

James unbuttoned the first two, but lied back down as his vision began to haze over. "Unh, I don't feel that good." Lily became a blur of wavy, auburn hair to him.

"James! Come on, hold on now, don't pass out on me," Lily pleaded as she hurriedly took off his robe. She cursed under her breath at seeing another shirt underneath (_How many layers does he have to wear?!) _ But the lack of blood already started its effects. James smiled up at her, eyes glazed over as if he was in a trance-like state. His left hand reached out to cup her cheek. Lily felt her insides freeze as she looked into his eyes. His warm, hazel eyes.. Her cheeks burned the same crimson when she looked at his photo not too long ago.

"You, know Evans," James whispered, "if you weren't so stubborn and gave me a chance back in Hogwarts, we would've been married by now." His eyes drooped and his head fell back in the pillows, unconscious.

Lily still stood frozen, bent over him, her breathing frantic and cheeks still burning crimson. _What in the world just happened? _She thought to herself. _This is not good, this is so not good. _With a deep breath she unscrewed the wound-healing potion bottle and opened up his shirt to expose his chest. There was a deep gash in the middle, with blood flowing down the sides. Lily quickly poured an ample amount of the potion on the cut, healing the wound instantly and cleaning the blood. She quickly muttered a charm to help James produce more blood to replace the ones lost. She muttered another charm to replace his dirty auror robes with clean collared pajamas and drew the blankets around him. Looking once more into his content face, she took off his glasses, placed them on the table, and left the curtains.

Turning around, Lily saw Megan looking at her with curiousity. "What did you do?" Megan asked, smiling knowingly at Lily.

Lily groaned and smacked Megan's arm, "Nothing, Megan! I just mended a deep gash in his chest, that's all. He lost too much blood already; he's currently unconscious."

"So..." Megan started in a shy voice. "Do you know if Ameile's his girlfriend or something?"

Lily shrugged, "I don't know for sure...he didn't say anything about her. They could just be partners for all I know." She looked at Megan, and teased her, "What's it to you, anyway?"

Lily was surprised to see Megan blush. "Oh, um.. nothing of course, I'm just curious. They do seem to care about each other a lot, though." Megan waved her hand, as if the matter wasn't a big deal to her.

"I think I should see how Frank is doing," Lily said suddenly, quickly realizing that she didn't look for Alice yet.

"Alright, I'll see you later Lily."

_Department of Mysteries: Ethan Aberforth's Office; __4:00 P.M._

Ethan was currently organizing a large stack of papers when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said, pushing the pile of papers aside his desk. His friend, Damien Churchill opened the door and took a seat on the chair in front of his desk.

"What's wrong, Damien? You look awfully trifled today," Ethan said jokingly.

Damien shook his head sadly, gesturing to Ethan that it was no time for jokes. "It's You-Know-Who. He struck again today."

Ethan frowned and leaned forward to study his friend. "What?" He refused to believe it.

"At Diagon Alley, one o' clock," his friend replied.

"In broad daylight? You're joking, surely the Dark Lord hasn't gone that confident in his powers yet."

"Well, apparently it seems that he is. The aurors believe that the number of his supporters doubled just this past month."

"Good god, don't tell me that we have another Grindlewald on our hands," Ethan said.

Damien smiled sardonically, "I bet if ever, You-Know-Who will be much worse than him." Ethan suddenly stood up. "Where are you going?"

Ethan wrapped his outer robes and made out for the door. "To check on Lily."

"Wait a minute, isn't she in Hogwarts right now, anyway?"

Ethan shrugged, "I just want to make sure she's alright."

Damien laughed and said, "More like you're just looking for an excuse to visit her, you heartstruck man."

Ethan shrugged again, smiling. Before he closed the door, he said, "Oh, and be a good assistant and organize those papers for me."

Damien turned around to see the towering stack of papers awaiting him and groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have come."

_Hogwart's__ Hospital Wing; __4:00 P.M._

Alice and Lily were currently talking to each other about the attack as they sat next to Frank's bed. He was more than happy to give his own account of the attack, with of course some embellished parts to make him look more heroic.

"And then about five minutes into the attack, four Death Eaters surrounded me. But of course, I was experienced enough to use a simple large-range stupefying hex to render them unconscious immediately," Frank said happily, using his hand to show the moves he made with his wand.

Alice rolled her eyes and smacked is hand ("Ow! That hurt, my hand's bruised!"). Paying no attention to his complaint, Alice rolled her eyes, saying, "What do you mean _you_ stupefied all of them, if Sirius weren't there to save your arse, you'd have boils all over you by now!" Lily laughed. Her two friends never changed.

Frank smiled, "Oh, alright then. Have it your way."

Alice turned to look at Lily, "So, how's James?"

Lily jumped at her seat with the mention of his name (which did not go unnoticed by Alice). "Oh, James, right. Well, he seems fine enough. The bloody idiot could've bled to death if I didn't force him to allow me to put some potion on his cut."

Alice frowned in worry, "Are you sure he's alright? James is very stubborn, I hope he's not hiding anymore injuries."

"Well, none that I know of anyway," Lily said nonchalantly. Then there was that burning question that couldn't wait to be asked, "Alice, what is between Ameile and James?" She prayed that Alice wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Alice glanced at Frank before answering Lily, "Ameile's James's girlfriend." Lily couldn't help but feel deeply put down by this. "They've been dating for what... a year, I think?" She looked at Frank to confirm her answer.

"Yeah, a year ago, when he saved her from that Cruciatus Curse," Frank said, nodding. "Ameile's head-over-heels for him ever since, I daresay."

"Hm, well, I'd better check on James since I have nothing else to do," Lily said as if she didn't care. "Just, to check if he has any other injuries, like you said." With that, she left Alice and Frank to themselves.

Once out of Lily's earshot, Alice smiled knowingly and turned to Frank, "Well, what do you think?" She asked her fiancé.

Frank laughed, "Oh yes, she's definitely in love with him."

Lily stood by James' side, looking over him. He actually seemed innocent when he slept. The thought made Lily smirk at herself. _Yeah right, as if he'll ever be considered a saint. _ Now that she was alone with him, without having to take care of any of his wounds, she took the time to look over him. _So you're the ever-famous auror and Witch Weekly's renowned #1 Eligible Bachelor. You are definitely not bad-looking in real life, and your photo did make you look very handsome. Hmm...if I weren't engaged right now, I would've thought that I actually love you. _Lily rolled her eyes at herself. _But of course not, I'm in love with Ethan and you're in love with Ameile. It's as simple as that. And don't think that just because you matured a little that I'm all over you. I still think that you're the little git you were since fifth year. _ Unconsciously, Lily reached out to brush her hands through James' untidy hair. "Damn you for being so handsome," Lily said out loud.

_Still the same place (Hospital Wing); __4:20 P.M._

Ethan was walking throughout the Hospital Wing, after he got directions from Madam Pomfrey where Lily should be. The Wing was bigger than he thought, but he still felt foolish for not being able to find Lily in the sea of white curtains and beds. He stopped at the second corridor he passed, "Now was it a left or right from here?" He asked himself. Just then, a redhead bumped into him.

"Oh! Lily there you are! I'm so stupid, I couldn't find where you were," Ethan said, hugging the petite woman. He was surprised when she pushed him away.

"Um..I'm not Lily," the redhead said, looking up at him. Ethan looked at the woman in white pajamas and upon closer inspection he realized that she wasn't Lily. She had blue eyes and her hair was a lighter shade of red.

"My goodness! I'm so sorry, I thought you were my fiancée. You look so much like her," Ethan said, bowing his head in embarrassment.

"It's alright," Ameile said, although she felt really uncomfortable at his hugging her. "Lily, Lily Evans right?"

Ethan smiled, "Yes, do you know where she may be? I feel like an idiot right now, I can't even remember the directions Madam Pomfrey gave me."

"Well, I think that Lily Evans is my MediWitch...I'm not too sure, I passed out that's why. But I won't really be much of help, I'm lost too. I've been looking for my boyfriend James, James Potter."

"_The _James Potter?" Ethan asked.

Ameile blushed, _So much for hiding my relationship with James from the media_ "Yes," she said timidly.

"Well then, how about we look for the two of them together?" Ethan asked, leading the way.

_Back with Lily and James _=)

Lily was still brushing her hands through James' hair when he smiled in his sleep. Lily smiled back at him, but was surprised when he suddenly said, "So you think I'm dashingly handsome, huh Evans?" And he opened his eyes, smirking up at her.

Lily jumped back, "You git! I thought you were asleep!" A crimson blush went over her cheeks once more.

James smiled again and reached out to tuck away a stray hair from her. " 'Thought' is the keyword, Evans. You _thought_ I was asleep."

"So all this time you were just lying there pretending to be asleep?" Lily said aghast.

"Seems so, Evans. And might I add, you seem to have a great fondness for my hair."

Lily bit her lip, even she can't think of a back-comment for that. "Shut up, Potter." Although she couldn't help but smile.

James smiled in a melancholy way, "So it's really 'Potter' again, now is it?"

Lily was surprised at the sadness in his voice. "What do you mean?"

James decided to look up at the ceiling rather than in her eyes. "At the end of graduation. You said 'Good luck to you too, James.' I just thought that you'd call me James after you called me by my first name for the first time back then."

Lily's expression softened, "You remember that?"

James turned to her, "And you _don't_?"

Lily was taken back by his comment. "No.. I mean, I didn't, I-"

James interrupted, "Forget it."

"But it's not like you're any better, you still call me 'Evans'," Lily said pointedly, defending herself.

He just shrugged, "Whenever I tried calling you Lily, you always lash out at me."

Lily denied him, "No I don't." She whispered. James just simply raised his eyebrows at this.

To end the awkward silence between them he asked, "So..why are you here anyway? Unless you're just here to admire by 'dashingly handsome' face." He said the last part as a joke rather than in a conceited way.

The thing is, Lily didn't really go to him to do anything. I suppose as James said she was just there "to admire his handsome face" but of course she won't admit that. Lily quickly made up an excuse. "I just wanted to make sure your wound's completely healed," she said loftily.

James lied back down and placed his arms at his sides. "Well do check away, my darling MediWitch," he said, eyes sparkling in mischief.

Lily smiled, "Shut up." She paused, hands over his chest. "Can you unbutton your shirt for me?" She asked, not wanting to do the task herself.

James made a fake yawn, covering his mouth. "Why don't you do it? You seem to unbutton my shirt _so well_ back then and my arms are too tired," he said dramatically, waving his arms to show his helplessness.

Lily scoffed, "You're so fake, James." But she proceeded to unbutton his shirt anyway.

"I do try," he replied.

Lily opened up his shirt to look at his bandaged chest. "I'm just going to unwrap them for a while to make sure your wound's alright."

"Mm-hmm," James mumbled, too busy looking into her eyes.

Lily unwrapped the long bandage and ran her hands lightly across the wound. "I think it's alright now," she said looking back at James. She blushed when she realized how close their faces were. James held her hand and placed it back on his chest. "Are you sure?" He whispered, his voice low and husky. They didn't realize that right in front of them, watching the entire thing were Ameile and Ethan, whose mouths were both open in shock.

Ameile was the first to compose herself and asked angrily, "What do you think you're doing to my boyfriend?!" Lily and James turned their heads sharply and gulped at seeing their shocked faces. Lily was close enough to hear James whisper, "Busted."

-------------------------------o

Wooot Woot! How was that one?! LOL, some of my reviewers were complaining how disappointed they were, thinking that James would be Lily's patient and stuff.... you guys have such little faith in me! I promised that in my summary remember?

Well, in this chapter we had a lot of Lily and James action, and if you guys wish to think it, Ethan and Ameile action. Hm.. the latter is questionable. Here's some notes I would like to discuss to you guys:

A/N #1: I know it may be confusing for you guys how Lily seems to be in love with James and then her usual James-hating self comes back in. I do this on purpose to keep some conflict in the plot... I can't have them falling completely in love too soon! But yes, Lily does love James deep down, she's just too stubborn and in denial to admit it, thus the classic love/hate thing.

A/N#2: Now how about our Jamsiepoo? Hm.. well he's definitely more forward in expressing his love to Lily, despite being in a relationship with Ameile. Now don't get me wrong here, James doesn't mean to be a filthy cheating bastard to Ameile or anything... He just doesn't think of Ameile as a romantic lover. Instead, he prefers to think of her as his little sister =)

A/N#3: You guys should take note that Ethan works in the Department of Mysteries.. that's all I'm saying ; )

---------------------------------------o

To my reviewers: I do have to admit that I'm slightly disappointed.. I was hoping for more reviews =( ... sniff sniff Anyways:

**ThreeEaredBunny****:** LOL, thanks for your compliment. Yes, I did partially fulfill the wishes of my reviewers by having a lot of Lily and James action I hope that will satisfy you guys for awhile.

**Hp-Azn:** As I said above in my author's note, have some more faith in me! LoL, I said that it would happen in the summary, did I not? =) Well here you go, tell me if you liked it!

**TheSilverLady****:** Thanks so much, I hope to hear more from you

**PadfootProngsMoony****:** Wow! Thank you, thank you =D I'm really happy to have my story on your favorites list, I hope that this will continue to be your favorite Review what you think of this chapter, please

**LogaLog****:** Thanks, I hope you liked this chapter too.. tell me what you think =)

**tRuE2U:** Awww! I'm so sorry, I'm not sure I can fulfill that wish.. somehow this fic will have broken hearts in them =( But hopefully, they'll all end up with someone they truly love wink wink =D

**restless-soul:** Again, I said that I would do that in the summary, so here you guys go! LoL... but I even have more plans in store for James and Lily mischievous smile

**ShimmeringEvil****:** Here's the update (though not as soon as I hoped), I hope you liked this chapter =D Review please!

**Princess Pixie Ice:** Hiiiiiii! hug Looooong time, no see? (eheh, you get wut I mean =P ) I'm really happy to receive a review from here... are you planning on any other L/J fics? If you do, I'll be more than happy to read some! =D

**gryffspopgurl****:** Thanks for the answer for my Chinese question, lol ;;; Thank you sooo very much for your compliment, it really means a lot to me! =D I do agree with you, Lily and James Potter sound so much better, they're the ultimate couple, not L/OC or J/OC O.o haha, and about Lily and Ethan's engagement, I also agree with you that they're relationship is really weird, =D I mean, falling in love with your father's MediWitch? o.O Not really the most romantic relationship, huh?

**Penguin 'N' Tales:** Thanks for your compliment, I do aim to have as original a plot as I can... please continue to review!

**chewy1:** I know, I am evil, aren't I? LoL.. and I'm sad to say that I'm still evil for making the semi-cliffie on this chapter too! =D Don't I just have a knack for that? I hope you did like this chapter though, tell me what you think

**FrEgOrGeLuVeR225:** LoL, I never told you before.. but whenever I write back on your reviews, I always have to copy and paste your name! LoL, it's much easier and less confoozling for me =) But I do love it though I hope you'll continue to like my story =D

**bebe-chrissy****:** Thanks so much for your compliment ; I really hope I'll continue to do wonderful, as you say =) Review please!

**siriusremusjames****:** Heehee, the marauders, you gotta love them! Speaking of the marauders, I still have to get Remus and Sirius back in the picture Oh, and you're right, I am indeed evil, aren't I? But hey! Cliffies give me more reviews! LoL, I'm so cruel... sorry! But I think I just made another cliffie in this chapter too, huh? Well, I hope I updated quickly enough o.o

**pinkoceanmist****:** LoL, yes you did spell Ameile's name right! =) And I suppose this chapter made you happy then, since you wanted some Lily and James action! Review and tell me what you think!

Hmm.. I hope I can get to 80 reviews for this chapter... care to help?


	6. Confrontations

**Romance in the Hospital Wing   
by ****Wo Ai Ni16**

* * *

****

**Chapter Five: Confrontations **

_Saturday, First week of August 1978; 6:20 P.M. _

The four just stood there (apart from James, who was lying on his bed), rather stupidly, shock seeming to still have a hold on their systems. Ameile was the first one to recover, asking "I said 'What do you think you're doing to my boyfriend?!'" Her whole countenance was livid with restrained anger and shock.

Ethan was still standing one foot behind her. He shook his head as if to clear away the rather unpleasant (to him) scene that he had just witnessed. Being the optimist he forced himself to give a little smile before asking, "Yes, I think I would also like the answer to that, Lily darling."

_Lily **darling**? _James thought. _What the hell…? _With his head still lying on the slightly inclined pillow, he looked up at Lily with questioning eyes.

Lily was still staring back at Ethan, her eyes slightly wide like a deer in headlights. She too shook her heads as if to clear her thoughts and immediately her already rose-blushed face turned even redder. Clearing her throat, she said "Us? Well, I was just-"

"She was just checking on my wounds, _sir_," James cut in defensively as he proceeded to sit up halfway, before clutching his chest in pain and lying back down in pain. Lily turned and was about to check on him but Ameile got there first, kneeling immediately beside him and taking his hands in hers.

"What on Earth is wrong with you, James?" Her eyes were shining with fear and worry.

Lily decided to take opportunity and explained, "He had a chest wound. I applied some potion on him to heal it, but apparently the wound was too deep. Although it is gone, he will still feel some soreness in the area that was affected."

Ameile looked at her again, "So you're also his MediWitch?"

"Yes."

Ethan smiled and said, "So that's what that was all about. I'm sorry I presumed things, Lily. I knew that you wouldn't…" He trailed off, and everyone knew what he implied.

Lily smiled in earnest, her cheeks still slightly red. _I honestly have been blushing too much lately_, she thought, reprimanding herself. But why was she feeling slightly guilty at what Ethan just said?

James observed the entire scene before him while trying to ignore the annoying pain in his chest. It looked like he wouldn't be able to get up anytime soon. However, he still narrowed his eyes at the man standing in front of Lily. _Who is he?_

Knowing that her boyfriend was alright, Ameile stood up and regarded Lily with friendlier eyes. She smiled at the MediWitch and shook her hand. "I'm sorry too. I suppose I'm just overprotective."

Lily smiled back and shook Ameile's hand as well. "I understand. I know how it must've looked like from your point of view."

"He will be alright, won't he?"

"Oh yes, of course. He should even be up and about by tomorrow morning."

James felt slightly indignant at being ignored. _They're talking as if I'm not here. _Finally speaking up once more, he regarded the man and asked him in a would-be-casual voice, "And you, sir? You haven't introduced yourself yet."

Ethan smiled, definitely not detecting the subtle sarcasm in James's voice and stepped up to him, shaking his bandaged hand, "Ethan, Ethan Aberforth." He turned around and gestured at Lily behind him. "I'm her fiancé. Once more, I apologize for having presumed things."

James nodded his head to show that he acknowledged his words, but stopped listening once he heard Ethan say "fiancé." A great weight seemed to have dropped at the pit of stomach. He must have dazed off for a while because Ameile's hand waved in front of him.

"James, James, are you okay?"

He looked back at her, "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just," he thought of an excuse, "..as Lily said, my chest still hurts a little bit." Seeing her worried, he smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine, honest." He looked back at Lily who seemed to look at him, but her eyes reflected those of someone in deep thought.

Ethan looked back from Lily and then to James. Thinking that Ameile and James would like some private time to themselves, he asked her, "Lily, I suppose we should go?"

Lily glanced at him before looking once more at James. Fishing in the right pocket of her MediWitch robes she took out a small vial of a pale-blue potion. She gave it to James who observed the potion curiously.

"That's a standard pain-killing potion," Lily explained. "You can drink the entire potion and it should be enough to help you throughout the night." She turned to follow Ethan out the curtains.

He smiled and nodded, "Thanks, Lils."

Lily paused at the sudden use of her old nickname and nodded back at him, and walked out with a small smile on her face.

_Hospital Wing: Main Ward _

Megan was currently sitting near Frank, Alice, and another wizard in soiled auror robes. The MediWitch needed rest, exhausted from the day's activities. Everything was finally calming down; the large wave of incoming patients was over. All of them were being treated by the rest of the medical staff. She wiped her slightly sweaty forehead with a washcloth. As she sighed and lied back at the seat, she couldn't help but hear the conversation the group was having beside her:

"But Alice, you know that Lily's more sensible than that. She's engaged for goodness's sake!" The handsome auror complained to the young woman.

The woman named Alice argued back, "I don't know, Sirius. You may not know this, but Lily used to really care about James…"

The auror scoffed and said with dripping sarcasm, "Yeah right, she definitely did a good job of showing _that_ while we were students."

Alice sighed, looking temporarily defeated before turning to the man in the bed beside her for help, "You remember, don't you, Frank?"

The said man nodded his head, "Of course I do. He was all she ever talked about during first and second year." He paused and looked thoughtful for a while before saying, "But I'm not so sure, Alice, didn't she get over him?" He looked at Sirius before saying, "I'll have to agree with Sirius, I mean, it is practically an understatement to say that she hated him during fourth year onwards."

Sirius smiled triumphantly, "Ha! Told you I was right, you're outnumbered two to one, Alice!"

The woman looked like she was about to say something but held back, closing her mouth shut with pursed lips. She sighed and put up a fake smile, "I guess you're right," she lied. _You don't know half of the story, Sirius_, _Frank, _she thought to herself. _Lily definitely would not have told you two, but I've been her best friend since first year… _

Megan heard all this being said and started to feel sorry for Lily. _So she and James have a history then. _

Lily and Ethan were currently walking down the long corridor of the Hospital Wing. The young MediWitch was still slightly shaken at the day's events. Ethan had his arm wrapped around her waist. He didn't seem to mind the silence but to Lily the lack of conversation between them was unnerving. Trying to end the awkward silence she asked "So Ethan, what are you doing here, exactly?"

Her fiancé looked down at her with a slightly surprised expression. "Oh I'm sorry Lily, I must have disturbed your work, didn't I? Well, I just heard about the attack and I just felt the need to check on you…"

Lily suddenly felt guilty once more. _Of course he'd be worried about me; I must have sounded like such a self-centered brat_. "No, I'm sorry, Ethan, I didn't mean for it to sound that way. Of course I'm happy that you're here. I guess… I was just a little bit surprised that you'd be visiting so quickly; it has only been a couple of hours."

Ethan chuckled and hugged her closer to him, "Well I can't really help it if I'm in love with you, right?" Lily blushed at what he said. Although they had been together for a decent amount of time, she still sometimes felt awkward around him for some reason. Ethan smiled, mistaking the reason for her blush for one of being flattered and dropped his arm as they approached the end of the corridor and entered the main ward of the Hospital Wing. Lily let out a breath of relief before she heard-

"Ah, speak of the devil, there's our Lils!" A young man came up to Lily and quickly hugged her. Lily squealed in surprise at being hugged unexpectedly. Being the petite witch that she is, it didn't help that the man was tall; she could swear that she was being lifted up at least ten centimeters off the ground. She looked confusingly at Ethan, who she could see behind the man's shoulder. Apparently his equal look of confusion confirmed that he had no idea who the man was either.

"Aww, come on Lils, don't tell me that you don't recognize me!" Lily could practically hear the pouting in his teasing, mischievous voice. A sudden wave of realization swept over Lily. _Wait a minute, I recognize this familiar voice! This… annoyingly familiar voice. _She groaned out loud, finally realizing who the man was before saying, "Sirius, you sneaky bastard, put me down!"

Complying with her wishes, the auror put the fiery redhead down. "Now Lily is that anyway to greet a friend after you've met them for two years?" Sirius asked with mock indignation.

Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile. "'Friend,' my arse. It seems you haven't changed one bit, Sirius. You're still the same most reckless, immature, annoying jerk I have ever met." She paused and added with a smirk, "Apart from Potter, of course."

Sirius laughed and bowed very low, "You forgot handsome, madam! I am still the dashingly handsome, superiorly strong, ultimately brave young man you've ever met!" Lily could see a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he leaned closer to whisper to her, winking, "And let's not forget how talented I am in bed." The last comment earned him a hard slap on the cheek. "Argh! Sirius Black, you disgusting pig! Like I ever slept or even snogged with you at all!" _Honestly, you think that after two years the jerk would act more mature! _Lily hmph-ed and stomped out of the ward past Ethan, completely ignoring him and muttering something about checking on her patients.

Alice, who was watching the entire scene from behind tried to stifle her giggles as she pulled poor Sirius away from the indignant redhead. Frank was still lying on his bed, laughing uproariously. It was amazing that after two years, when put together, the friends still acted as if they were in Hogwarts. "Come on Sirius, I'm sure Arabella wouldn't be too happy with you either." She pulled him down to a chair before laughing at the horrified expression on Ethan's face. "Don't worry Ethan, this to our standards is completely normal." Alice couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the poor man who wouldn't understand her friends' antics since he didn't attend Hogwarts with them. Since Lily was indisposed to explain, she decided to enlighten Ethan, "This here," she jabbed her thumb pointing to the direction of Sirius, "Is Sirius Black. I guess you could say that he and Lily were friends. Don't worry about him, he's completely sane." Ethan numbly nodded his head. To put an end to his doubts she added, "And no, he and Lily did not have any relationship whatsoever." She turned around to glare at Sirius.

Sirius, however, stood up again and walked over to Ethan shaking his hands enthusiastically. "So you're Ethan!" Sirius said with an all-too-happy smile on his face. He stood back, looking at the man up and down, trying to figure out what kind of person Ethan was through his outfit. _Warm gray robes…yup this guy is definitely boring, just like the kind of person Lily would marry._ He looked up at Ethan saying,"Lily is really lucky to have met someone like you!" _Not- god, Prongs can easily win against this guy. _"I'm sure she couldn't be any happier!" _No way, I bet she's downright miserable. _"Knowing my dear Lilykins, I can definitely see you two as a couple." _Did Prongs meet this guy? I'd love to see the look on his face when he finds out_.

Alice, knowing that all the words Sirius were saying was the exact opposite of what he felt, she pulled him back once more from Ethan. "Alright, Sirius I'm sure he gets the point."

Ethan straightened his robes. "Yes, well er… It's nice meeting you too Mr. Black." Looking at the clock on the wall he noticed how late it was, "Goodness, 8:00 already! I've been gone from the office far too long, please excuse me." He tipped his hat and wore his overcoat, walking quickly out the door.

Once he was out of earshot, Sirius quickly turned around to Alice and Frank, "What on Earth possessed Lily to get engaged to _him_?"

Lily was still stomping down the corridor contemplating the long day's events. She never expected for all of this to happen; for her past to come back to her when she transferred her services to the Hospital Wing. She remembered how much she wanted to get out of Hogwarts. She did love the place, however, she hoped to start a new life and get away from the haunting memories that were the Marauders. They did somehow come to terms back in seventh year but…

Lily sighed, she didn't need all this. She was engaged to Ethan, why should she be worrying about all these things? Everything was final, nothing can be changed now. She found a secluded corner with a comfortable-looking couch beside an open window. Sitting down, she stretched her overworked muscles and gazed out the open fields. The crescent moon was ever bright, making adding a warm glow to the starry night sky.

She looked down and played with a stray thread from her uniform. _James…_Yes, she remembered all their experiences in Hogwarts, the good and the bad. Smiling ruefully she recalled the many arguments they had during their fifth year, particularly one that she dubbed, the "Snape Incident." James had been such an arrogant bullying toerag back then. She frowned as other memories passed in her head. _No, I shouldn't be thinking of these things_. She stood up and was resolved to find something to do, lest she wanted more memories of the past to come back to her.

****

**To all my reviewers: **Wow, I haven't updated for… so long, I know ;; sigh You guys should actually thank my classmates, I had them read my fanfic and apparently underestimated how much they'd like it… I was pressured to write this chapter. It was good pressure though They finally squeezed some creativity from my head. Plus, the third Harry Potter movie also put me back in my Harry Potter-obsessive mode. I've been spending too much time in the anime section of I'm also a downright perfectionist when it comes to writing. If I can't have the perfect idea or inspiration or mood, I don't write. I know it sucks for you guys.. but I can't do anything --;;;

Plus, a great thankies to all of you! I have been praised, encouraged, and/or threatened by you guys. I love you all! xD I definitely went waaaay past my expected 80 reviews. I never knew so many of you guys will like this story. Hopefully you'll all continue to like it

**My notes: **

#1: I know you guys may have noticed a definite change in the mood of this chapter. From uppity-humor I went to a more down mood. Sorry if this disappoints you, but I'm trying to make the fic as realistic as I can. This will happen a lot in regards to the tone of the chapters. The next one will hopefully have some humor in it, if I carry out my original plan.

#2: I have listened to some reviewers who expressed their wishes in putting more history behind Lily and James. Thus, I have revised the _entire_ story in my head to comply with your wishes. As you guys can see in this chapter, I'm slowly revealing the reason for the conflict between Lily and James. I will continue to try putting little bits and pieces of their past in the upcoming chapters until you guys will finally see why they are acting this way. Hopefully you guys will be satisfied with the story.

#3: I know that this is primarily an AU, however I am also trying to stick to as much cannon as possible. If there is possibly anything that conflicts with the things said in the books it's either because I changed it on purpose to fit my story… or because I missed that eensy weensy tidbit. 

**On that note, on to my individual responses! **There are soo many of them LoL, I don't mind though

**Arweena**** Bloom: **Goodness, I never would have thought a website would like to have my fanfic. Unfortunately, I have no access to an email account. I will entrust the story to you, you may put up this story as you wish. I would also like the url of the fanfic, if you do decide to put it up.

**Elspeth Renee: **Thank you so very much I know this update took… very long. Well I hope you will still continue to read.

**S.BR.LJ.P: **Aww, I'm sorry about that. Well, at least this chapter didn't end in a cliffie, right? ****

**Hp-Azn: **LOL, well James didn't get hurt too much in this beginning part of the story. However, I intend on this story to be really long, so there's a lot of chances that he'll get hurt much more worse in the future.

**nightxXxshade****: **Woah, well so sorry but I definitely know for sure that this update took muuuuuch longer =(

**gryffspopgurl****: **Yeah, I do have to admit that it wasn't too romantic. But I cannot put so much romance too early in the story! It will just ruin the entire thing. As I said, I have to try and make the story as realistic as possible, so I cannot make them be too romantic when they're in their own separate relationships ;; In the future though, when they finally sort out everything (which will take quite a while, mind) Hopefully I'll be able to add much more romance to your liking.

**Serendepetee****: **Indeed, it is sad, _non_? ;; That's why my classmate kept pressuring me to update ;;

**VaNiLLa****cHai 501: **Well I know this update definitely wasn't soon… but at least I _did_ update oo

**Mystic fire demon: **Thank you! As for Ameile and Ethan, I can't be too sure of anything yet. I have to admit, I did originally intended for them to be a couple but I cannot say anything for sure in the future.

**IcePhoenix128: **Thank you ****

**carmeLisSa****:** Oh, thanks a lot! Yeah, I waaay surpassed my goal of 80, thanks for helping out! And thanks for reading my story.

**Ladyiris27: **Well I'm glad _you _like Ethan and Ameile. The majority of my reviewers hate them ;; They're really not bad though, but of course, this will definitely be a Lily and James fic, I can definitely assure you of that.

**Pinkoceanmist****: **Hi Hi! LoL, well I didn't get to make Ameile jealous. She will probably have more bouts of jealousy as Lily and James's relationship develops in the future, however ;)

**AndromedaTonks****: **Hahahaha, well they didn't have to do much lol, the entire conflict simply resolved itself on its own. As for Ethan being a Death Eater, lol I've never thought of that. I overlooked that segment when Harry said that in the fifth book ..

**FallenFlower****: **Awww! You hate Ameile? sigh Oh well, lol I guess I can't stop you guys from hating them.

**Quak**** Quak 88: **Thanks so very much for your review. Yes, I did revise the entire story in order to give some more history on Lily and James's relationship. I hope it will be good enough for you.

**tRuE2U: **Thanks so much for having faith in me ;;;; I know this is probably the longest update you've ever encountered, but I did update in the end --; lol thanks so much again!

**Toriisen****: **I hope you liked this chapter.

**Auroraborealis****: **Thanks lots! I was able to fit in Sirius in this chapter. I'll do my best to try and get Remus in here soon, but don't worry, I won't forget about them! ****

**Spunkygabi****: **Thank you, I hope this chapter was also good to you too.

**Theresa Black: **Wow, thanks lots! I'm happy that you loved the chapter, I hope that I'll continue to do as good of a job these upcoming chapters.

**lilynjamesAFF****: **Eeep! Can't promise any of those too soon, lol.

**ThreeEaredBunny****: **LoL, well as I said, I am going to put some more explanation regarding Lily and James's relationship. And your question about Ameile will be answered in the future. ****

**Obbsesive****: **Thanks much! LoL.

**Child-of-scorpio: ** Well, Lily and James definitely were able to get themselves easily about this one. ;; But what about in the future? Hm…. ;)

**Padfoot103: **I'm glad you like it!

**PVBookworm****: **Yup, you're not the only one wondering about James and Ameile. I hope to let the story answer your question in the future ****

**Angelzsweet90: **Well, this update was… _long_ ;; But at least I did update.. eheh ;;;

**Crogirli****: **Thanks so much for your compliment. I'm glad you like my style of writing ****

**Ljkalways****: **Thank you so much!

**ChErrYcoBbleR****: **Aww, I'm sorry Ameile and Ethan had to ruin the moment. But in the future I'm sure that I'll be able to add lots more fluff once all of our characters sort out their feelings for each other.

**Restless-soul: **Thanks much! LoL, I hope you continue reviewing

**Tiger Lily21: **I know! Isn't it?! That's why I love writing about Lily and James, they are such a cute couple to write about!

**Tiggerbaby2430: **LoL, it's okay, I have my lazy days too. I hope you won't be too lazy to review for this chapter though!

**Sarah: **Thank you so much! I'm glad that my story is one of your exceptions. I hope you'll have the heart to continue reviewing.

**Tiniigurl****: **Aww, sorry that you feel that way. I can't have everything happening too quickly, otherwise the story won't be realistic. And I'm targeting to try and make this as realistic as possible.

**FrEgOrGeLuVeR225/Kt: **Okay, after this I'll call you Kt! lol

**Maggie: **Thank you lots for your comment!

**Varda****: **Hey Varda! I'm glad you like my fanfic! Thanks lots for being there to give me input ****

**Black Slytherin Girl: **I'm glad you like my fanfic Thanks lots for reviewing.

**BrightEmeraldEyes****: **LoL, I'm not too sure if Ethan and Ameile will get together. ****

**Lilykins****: **Ah! I used your name in the story! LOL, it was unintentional though, honest. I made Lily's nickname "Lils" or "Lilykins" lol xD I hope you don't mind. Thank you so much for your complement!

**Munkylover256:** Aww, me so sorry =( Cliffies are too fun to write though! But hey, at least this chapter didn't have cliffie.

**Lilyangel04: **Thanks so much for your review! I hope you'll continue to like it! ****

**Allie kat5: **Well this update wasn't too soon… sorry bout that o--o

**Blueskywillow****: **Thanks lots for your review! I hope you'll continue reviewing.

**Katie: **Thanks so much!

**Watervolleyhp****: **Wow, thanks so much for your compliment! I hope you'll continue to like it.

**cHoCoLaTeZ****: **Thanks so much! Wow… I'm so happy. Yes, Lily and James are my favorite HP couple of all time! They totally rock, and are the best couple to write about! ****

**fireangel621: **Wow, I'm so happy you feel that way, thank you for your review!

**Dancinguyn****: **Eeep…. Well I did finally update ..

**Dee: **Yeah! I did have the dreaded, dun dun duuun wirter's block! LoL, I had to redraft my whole entire story cuz I was dissatisfied with it…. But hopefully I won't have anymore of them. Thanks so much for your encouragement!

**SaMBrat****: **LoL, yup, cliffies are sooo fun to write

**Dimpi****: **Thanks much for liking my story. I do try to be as creative as possible.

**James's girl: **Thank you for your review! I hope that I will continue doing a good job in the future.

**Sheer: **LoL, don't worry, I surpassed my goal of 80 reviews! LoL I was surprised that so many ppl reviewed. I hope you guys continue to review

**jasminee****: **Hey, Jas! LoL, well are you happy now? I finally updated! I hope you'll give me back the printouts tho, I wasted a lot of paper and ink on them! Luv u lots!

**Pink Garfield: **Yay! I'm glad you think so! I hope that this fic will continue to be good!

**Well, I hope you guys continue reviewing! I love you all!**

****

/

/


	7. A Glimpse of the Past

**Romance in the Hospital Wing   
by ****Wo Ai Ni16**

* * *

****

**Chapter Six: A Glimpse of the Past **

_Saturday, First Week of August; __10:00 P.M.__: Hospital Wing _

"So…" Ameile began, fluffing James's pillow as he sat up. "Are you sure that there's nothing going on between you and Lily?"

James stiffened and he felt guilty as he lied, "Of course not." He stretched his legs before lying back down. "What would give you an idea like _that_?"

Ameile couldn't help but roll her eyes. _Isn't it kind of obvious? _She thought. "Come on, James, you forget that I was only a year behind you in Hogwarts. It wasn't really a secret how much you..er.. 'liked' Evans."

_Damn, she's got me there._ However, James was able to quickly recover. "Ameile, she's only my MediWitch, as well as yours. You don't have to worry about anything."

Ameile smiled. "Alright, if you're sure." She gently kissed his cheek before lying down on a cot propped beside his bed. "Well, goodnight, James. Remember, we'll both be going back to Headquarters by tomorrow afternoon."

James sighed. He didn't need the reminder. Moody will no doubt give him another one of his long lectures the instant he arrives. Taking off his glasses and placing it on a small table beside him, James lied down and instantly fell asleep.

_Hogwarts, Tenth Floor, Guest Rooms: Lily Evans _

Lily, wearing a light pale blue nightgown, stretched in front of her vanity mirror. Beside her on the floor were two trunks that were only partially unpacked. Ignoring her body's aching protests, she set out once more to unload her belongings. Already finished unpacking all her clothes, she moved on to her accessories, medical books, and other miscellaneous things.

At the end of the second trunk there was a small box. Lily frowned in thought. She didn't remember putting it in there, she must have just shoved it in the trunk in her haste of packing up. Taking the box out, Lily opened the lid to find her old diaries, the diaries she kept during her Hogwarts years. They looked new, having been kept in neat condition. The first one on top of the pile was her diary for her first year in Hogwarts. Her hands were paused a few inches over the cover, not sure if she should read it or not. Once more, a whole flood of memories came back to Lily.

The diary seemed to call out to her, tempting her to open it and read its contents that were kept for many years. Picking up the book, Lily walked over and sat on the edge of her bed and opened it.

Skipping practically half of the entries, Lily went to the ones that actually mattered, the entries she wrote during her first year in Hogwarts. She read the entry she wrote the day before her departure to Hogwarts:

_Dear Diary, _

_Oh, I'm so nervous about Hogwarts, but at the same time, I'm so excited, I can't even sleep! Not even stupid Petty can ruin my day. I swear, my brat of a sister is just jealous of me. Did I tell you that I already read all of my books? It's best for me to be prepared, right? After all, since I _am_ muggleborn (that's a term they use for non-magic folk, by the way) I will have to even double my efforts in order to succeed well in this school! I cannot wait to see everything for myself. I have read all about Hogwarts and it seems like such a fantastic place. Well, I will have to say goodnight for now, diary, mother is beginning to scold me for staying up so late. _

_Lily _

The next was an entry written on her first day in Hogwarts:

_Dear Diary, _

_ I cannot express how wonderful this place is! I have to say, I was very scared this morning because I didn't know where Platform 9 ¾ was. Luckily I met a girl named __Alice__. She's really nice; she's a pureblood so that's why she was able to tell me how to get to the platform. Then we met Sarah on the train and we were able to chat and get to know each other. Apparently, Sarah is a half-blood, her magic blood came from her mother's side. _

_As we were settling down, a boy named James Potter knocked and asked if he could sit with us. He seemed awkward to be sitting with a bunch of girls but he said that there was no other room left. He sat down beside me. James seems nice enough. __Alice__ knows his family a little bit. He's also a pureblood, and a very rich and wealthy one at that. From what I could tell, his family seems to be famous in the wizarding world. Maybe his parents are in a high position in the ministry?_

_Once we arrived we met Headmaster Dumbledore (he reminds me so much of the muggle version of Merlin!) and he gave us a brief speech before we ate our feast. The food here is amazing! It appears magically before your eyes! After that, we were led to our Common Room and then to our dormitories, which is where I am right now. _

_I'll write to you again, diary, I'm sure it will be a busy day tomorrow! Wish me luck! _

_Lily_

Lily skipped a couple of more entries until she found a specific one:

_Dear Diary, _

_First of all, sorry for not being able to write for a while. I've been having so many exams lately. But I have to tell you something, I have to admit it. I thought at first that I was wrong, but I can't deny it anymore… I like James Potter. And the thing is, diary, I don't think that this is just a simple crush. I mean I really, really, like him._

_ I'm not sure what makes him so special to me. Maybe it's because we're a lot alike? I have to admit, I don't have too many friends here; I don't really have much of a social life. I can't help it if I'm too preoccupied with my studies! I spend most.. okay, _all _of my time studying. But I hate studying in the library, you know what I'm like. For some reason, I prefer studying outdoors. That's why a week ago I finally decided to take a chance and went to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I decided to explore a little bit and I went down this small path into a glade. The place is perfect! It must be the only part in the Forbidden Forest that allows a good amount of sunlight to pass through the trees. So I went there the next day with my books to study. I thought that I was the only one who knew about the place, but guess who I found there? None other than James! Oh diary, you must've seen how red my face was! I swear, I was blushing like a ripe tomato. _

_I asked him what he was doing there and he said that he came to the clearing all the time to study and relax. Can you imagine that? I'm not alone! James is such a sweet, caring, shy young man, and that's what I love about him! He also studies a lot, but I guess not as much as myself. He didn't mind at all that his glade was no longer a secret as long as I don't tell anyone else. _

_So there you have it, diary. Everyday we meet there to study and talk with one another. _

_I can ramble on and on about James, but I'm sure I wrote enough for today. _

_Lily _

Placing a bookmark in that page of the diary, Lily lied down on her bed, staring up at its canopy. Yes, she had liked James a lot during her first few years in Hogwarts. But back then, as she had written in her diary many years ago, he had been a shy guy, but something happened over the summer before their fourth year. Lily frowned at the memory. Whatever that something was, it definitely changed the nice James she liked into the arrogant, pig-headed, womanizing jerk that she hated. Lily looked at her room. It wasn't as clean as she hoped it would be but it would have to do for then. Snapping her fingers, the light in the room turned off and Lily fell asleep.

James was having a rather nice dream about a certain redhead when a bright flash, for lack of a better word, flashed before his eyes. He immediately opened his eyes wide, the whole room appearing blurry, and reached for the wand in the pocket of his pajamas. He put on his glasses and blinked. There, in front of the open curtains was a young man slightly older than him, wearing ordinary casual black robes. James looked at the i.d. hanging on the man's neck and groaned. _Another bloody reporter, just what I need. _

The reporter beamed, ignoring the obviously annoyed look on James's face. "Mr. Potter! It's such an honor, we've heard of another one of your recent victories!"

James ignored his comment and said sleepily, "What time is it?"

The reporter checked his watch, "It's exactly 8 a.m., sir!"

"And you woke me up at this time for an interview? What the bloody hell's wrong with you?" James narrowed his eyes. "I highly doubt that you're even allowed in here."

"James, what's going on?" A sleepy feminine voice asked.

_Oh no…_James thought.

It was Ameile. Sitting up on the cot, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The reporter turned his curious eyes on the poor auror. Without warning…

_FLASH_

Ameile was awake by this time and gasped. The reporter had taken a picture of her.

_Oh god no… _

"Well, well, young miss, what's your name?" The reporter asked eagerly, too eagerly, in fact. An enchanted quill and parchment appeared beside him in the air, ready to record every word.

Ameile gulped and turned to James, not knowing what to do.

James sighed in defeat. _Well, we did our best to keep it secret_. He replied. "Her name's Ameile Collins. She's…" he took a breath, "my girlfriend."

The reporter beamed. To think, he was the first to find out! The entire press will have a field day! He took another picture.

"Goodness, who'd have thought? And how long have you two lovebirds been together?"

Ameile slightly flinched at the term 'lovebirds.' Deciding to speak up for them she responded, "About one year."

The reporter nodded eagerly, happy for all this information.

"And how exactly did you two meet?"

"Um…"

James sighed. It was better if they say the truth, otherwise the papers will just make up another one of their fake stories. Of course, they will have to twist the truth a little bit to keep the past auror missions a secret.

"Well, it was about a year ago," he began. "There was a private ball my friend, Sirius was having. He invited all the aurors from the ministry."

Ameile nodded, understanding what James was doing as she fabricated, "Yes and we met there."

The reporter's eyes lit up, "Oh, so you're an auror too?"

Ameile nodded, smiling.

"Goodness, what a charming couple you two make! So I suppose it was love at first sight?" The reporter winked at James.

The latter laughed nervously, "I guess you could say that."

The reporter snapped his fingers and instantly, the parchment and will disappeared to the inside of his briefcase. "Well, this has most certainly been a pleasure. This will be more than enough for the Daily Prophet. Thank you for your time, Mr. Potter." The reporter tipped his hat at Ameile, "Ms. Collins." Without anytime to spare, the reporter quickly walked outside, not giving James anytime to stop him.

"Well," Ameile said, turning to James, "that wasn't so bad."

James snorted, "Just wait until tomorrow. You'll be surprised how some papers can twist words around." He checked his watch, "And I can definitely expect a whole herd of reporters by this afternoon at least."

"We'll just have to leave before that time then."

Lily looked longingly out the window, watching the soft breeze flow through the trees before it reached her, playing gently with her hair. The cheery glow of the outdoors contrasted sharply with the rather gloomy aura of the Wing, which had the majority of its windows blocking the sunlight so as not to disturb the sleep of its patients. Turning back to the window, Lily stuck her head out slightly to invite more of the breeze to cool her sweat-slicked skin. _How I wish to go outside_, Lily thought. _I don't think Madam Pomfrey will mind; after all, there's nothing much for me to do and Megan won't mind covering up for me. _ Her decision made, she smoothed out her uniform and made her way towards the main ward.

Turning the corner, she spotted Megan and called to her, "Megan!"

The MediWitch turned around and smiled, seeing her friend. "Hi, Lily, taking a break?"

"I will right now, is it okay if you cover up for me?"

Megan nodded and waved her right hand, showing she didn't mind. "Sure, sure, I just got off from mine anyway."

"Thanks," Lily said, taking off her apron and re-tying her hair into a ponytail. "If Madam Pomfrey asks, I'll just be outside in the fields. I really need some fresh air."

Megan frowned at this. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, with all the attacks…"

Lily laughed lightly, "Oh, come on, Megan, I highly doubt that even Voldemort-" Megan flinched at the name "-has the nerve to attack Hogwarts yet." Seeing that her friend still looked unconvinced, she added, "Really, I'll be fine, now stop worrying."

"Fine, but if you don't come back within an hour," Megan paused, looking at the clock: it was currently 10 a.m., "I will send someone to search for you, I swear."

Lily laughed once more, "Alright, alright." Shaking her head, smiling, she walked out the Wing and stepped into a long hallway. Going down several flights of stairs, she reached the grand main entrance hallway. Surprisingly, she didn't run into anyone. Opening the doors, she stepped outside and breathed in the crisp, fresh air. It was fairly mild for an August day, with the breeze around.

Lily smiled and ambled down the fields, walking towards the direction of the lake. She decided to sit down on a boulder near lake, taking of her shoes and dipping them into its clear waters. Lily sat there idly for several minutes before she remembered something: the glade. Standing up, Lily muttered a drying charm for her feet before putting her shoes back on.

Lily walked once more, this time with a destination. Upon reaching the edge of the forest, she continued walking, all the while looking down on the ground. _Come on, I know it's here somewhere…Oh! There it is! _Lily bent down next to her find: a medium-sized rock. It didn't' seem to be anything out of the ordinary, covered with moss. Lily bent down further and wiped it clean with the side of her hand, revealing the now shiny polished rock On its lower edge, right above where the rock met the ground were two initials placed on opposite sides of the rock, LE on the left and JP on the right. In the middle was a small, amber gem, glimmering in the sunlight.

Finally confirming that she was heading in the right direction, Lily walked into the forest. Walking along a small path, she rounded a large shrub to see a clearing in the forest. Smiling, she breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent of the flowers in the surrounding bushes. She continued walking, but stopped, gasping as she saw that she was not alone. There, lying on a clean patch of grass, resting his head on a log was James.

_Oh god! What is he doing here? _Lily thought desperately. He was turned away from her, so she still had a chance to retreat. However, god was against her that day; as she took one step back, Lily stepped on a fallen twig, making a nice crisp '_snap_' sound in the quiet glade.

James immediately turned around and jumped into a defensive stance, his wand pointing directly at her heart. At that moment, Lily could not help but fell terribly afraid; James's eyes were ablaze and he reflected a strong aura of power. Lily finally understood why he was considered to be one of Moody's top aurors.

Once he realized that the intruder was only Lily, James relaxed and lowered his wand. "Hey, Lils, what brings you here?" He sat down and leaned against the log.

Lily was still thoroughly shaken, "Good god, James! By the way you looked, I thought you were going to kill me!"

He smiled sheepishly and laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry, just… Auror training and my reflexes, you know? Which reminds me," he narrowed his eyes, "you're not supposed to be out here!"

Lily scoffed and kicked a stone on the ground, "I can defend myself very well, thank you very much!" She held her chin high, her arms akimbo. "And I wouldn't be talking, Mr. Potter, you should be staying in the Wing right now."

This made James laugh, "You're the same as ever, Lils. And I was bored, the weather looked great so I decided to go out for a walk." He patted the space on the grass beside him.

Lily smiled and took up his invitation, sitting down. "And I can practically say the same about you." She turned to look at him, "But why are _you_ here? You haven't been here since-"

"Yeah, I know, I know. It's been a long time since we used to meet up here in our spot, huh?"

Lily further relaxed, leaning against the log. "Yes.. we haven't been here together since our second year." She picked up a daisy and idly plucked off its petals.

James's expression saddened, "I never forgot about this place, though."

Lily smiled sardonically, "Yeah right," her eyes hardened, "you completely forgot about our friendship after second year." She didn't really understand why she was saying all these things. For some reason, however, the words just flowed out her mouth without her control.

James leaned back and he looked incredulous. Not bothering to lower his voice, he asked, "What do you mean?! We became friends again in our seventh year." He looked less confident as he waited for Lily to respond. She remained quiet. "Right?" _Come on, Lils, say something!_ He thought.

"Lils," he began, his voice almost pleading as he reached out for her hand, "Don't be like this…"

Lily tensed up. She didn't need this right now. "I'm going," she said simply, making a move to stand up when James held her arm back.

He looked frustrated as he pulled her, forcing her to sit down again. Lily groaned and sat down reluctantly. She knew where this conversation was going…

James was about to speak when Lily interrupted him, "Look, James, it's the past…"

He nodded and exclaimed emphatically, "Precisely! And you have got to stop running away from the past, Lily!"

That did it, he had hit a nerve. "It's called the past for a reason, James! Just forget it!" She stood up once more and James followed suit.

"Like bloody hell I will! How am I supposed to understand, Lily, if you don't tell me anything?!"

Lily stood still, deciding that no response was the best for her situation. The truth of the matter was, she didn't really know how to respond to his question. _How can I possibly make him understand? Everything is just so complicated… the war, our 'history,' and we're not even single! _ _Although he seems to have forgotten about that last part. _

She bit her lower lip and tried to remain calm. Her first reaction would have been to make a come-back comment, but she didn't want to have a petty argument right now. Deciding to use another tactic, she tried to placate James, saying in a forced calm, "Look, James, let's just go back and pretend this never happened. I'm sure Ameile is getting worried-"

"Dammit, I don't care about her right now! Lily, I want to know what's going on between us!" The expression on his face was angry, hurt, and pleading at the same time. Lily felt almost sorry for him, but she remained her ground.

"Nothing's going on between us! You forget that you even have a girlfriend, James!" She responded angrily. A sudden thought came to her mind "Or are you still that womanizing jerk you've always been years ago? Ha! I should have known better than to think that you've actually changed!"

James looked gravely wounded by the comment but being equally stubborn he did not show how much it affected him for too long. He took a step back and Lily was surprised to see a smug look on his face. He smirked before responding, "Oh, so _that's _what this is all about! Ha, you're _jealous_!"

"What! Why, I- I…" Lily felt anger rise up in her. _The nerve! That is so untrue, how dare he! _"Don't flatter yourself, _Potter_-"

"Oh, great, so we're on a last name basis again?" He said sarcastically.

"Why would I be jealous? I'm engaged!" Lily said triumphantly, holding up her right hand, the expensive diamond ring reflecting the sunlight. James was about to say something but shook his head, closing his mouth. Feeling like she won the argument, Lily turned away from him, glaring instead at a tree beside her.

James watched her, a somber expression on his face. Tentatively, he walked up behind her. Although she was aware of his presence, she didn't acknowledge him. Hesitantly, he placed his hands on her shoulders and placed his head on hers, subconsciously noting her wonderful scent of vanilla and cherry blossoms. Lily tensed upon his touch, but relaxed, slowly melting into him.

"Look, Lils, I know you won't really believe me, but I still-"

A shout rang into the morning air: "LILY!" It sounded like Megan. _Oh no, she must've thought that something happened to me! _"It's Megan," she gasped to James.

"Damn," James muttered under his breath, silently cursing Megan in his head. _I was so close! _

Lily walked towards the castle, calling out, "Megan!"  
  
There was a short pause before they heard the MediWitch replied, "Lily! Where are you?!"  
  
"I'm fine, don't worry about me!"  
  
James followed shortly behind her, cursing under his breath for being so rudely interrupted. Lily was taking swift strides, being careful not to trip over roots and loose rocks along the path. James turned around to take a quick glance of the glade before turning back to follow Lily.   
  
When they finally reached the edge of the forest, they spotted Megan a couple of meters away, looking in their direction.   
  
"You're ten minutes late!" She yelled angrily as she stomped over to them. "And Madam Pomfrey needs help with making some medical potions!"  
  
Lily walked over to her friend and apologized, "I'm sorry, I got a little held back" she said, giving an annoyed glance towards James.   
  
The auror just rolled his eyes and continued walking past them towards the castle. Megan watched his back with a questioning look.   
  
"What happened between you two?"  
  
Lily shrugged and replied, "Nothing of importance." She walked back towards the castle  
  
Megan sighed and followed her friend, shaking her head sadly. "You're an awful liar, Lily," she whispered under her breath. However, she decided not to push the subject further. By the way that her friend was biting her lip and clenching her hands, something definitely happened between them.

-------------------------------o

**My notes: **

#1: After realizing that my last chapter was ridiculously short (although I don't think anyone commented on it, lol ) I decided to make this one extra long. Well, so you guys have a pretty basic idea of what transpired between Lily and James when they were younger. However, I will add more things in the future chapters so that you will have a clearer picture.

#2: Hopefully the entire "glade scene" wasn't too sappy. I was re-reading it over and over again critically, but when I asked some of my friends for their opinions, they liked it. If ever that it can be considered sappy, it adds good flavor to the story, they said. Maybe you guys could also give me your feedbacks?

#3: For those who wonder about how long this story may be… I think you could tell from my pacing that it will be pretty long. I mean, only about two days have passed so far! xD I am planning to split the entire story up into two or maybe three fics: a prequel, showing Lily and James' conflict in their past relationship; this fic; and a sequel of when Lily and James finally get together and start hiding from Voldemort. I'd best concentrate on this fic first and not get away though. What do you guys think?

**To all my reviewers: **I love all you guys, thanks so much for reviewing. And if you're reading this story and _still _haven't given me a review…. Well I hope that you do sometime in the near future! =P

**---------------------------------------o**

**My individual responses: **

**AngelsChains124: **Lol, well for my standards this was soon. I did have to get all my end-of-the-trimester exams out of the way.

**FallenFlower: **Thank you very much, I appreciate your comment with the mood change. I was pretty self-conscious about it. But since you say it's good, then that's good news to me! =)

**Auroraborealis: **Aww, I'm so sorry! Wow, I can't believe you've been waiting that much for the story! I hope you did well on your exams also. =)

**Miss remuslupin: **Thanks lots for your comment. Lots of people really want to see Lily and James to break up their respective relationships. Can't do it too soon, though, the story will be too short!

**Adele Rising: **Thank you very much! I'm happy that my story is one of your exceptions.

**Flying-piggy-123: **Thanks lots! Yes, Lily and James are also my favorite HP couple. They're the best!

**Muses' Advocate: **Of course you can have Sirius! As long as James is mine ; ) lol, thank you for your comment on my writing style, that's another thing that I'm concerned of. But seeing that you liked it, I'm happy =)

**Child-of-scorpio: **Oh yes, Lily's feelings are even more confused in this chapter. The poor girl.. and poor James too. Oh well, we'll just have to see how this goes, ne?

**Lily Natalia Evans: **LoL, sooooo many people want them to break up already! xD Hahaha, well I'll have to wait and see. And as for Ameile and Ethan? Hm….

**LuckyGirly3: **Thank you! And yes, I'll keep writing! My classmates will make sure of that --;;;

**Kay343: **Yes, I suppose James only likes redheads, but you'll have to ask him to be sure, lol.

**Dee****: **Thanks lots for having faith in me! Yes, I'm _not_ going to abandon this story, no matter how long it takes me to update!

**Princess Pixie Ice: **Heyyyy! Long time no review or chat, I have to check out your story sometimes. Once all these exams are over, I have to make sure to read your story! Once more, I've only been reading in the anime section for these past months (Inuyasha to be more specific), so I'm waayyy behind in the L/J section! ;;

**Kristinerz77: **Yes, this chapter is longer, I just noticed that the last one was really really short --;; You were one of the very few who complained though! Lol

**Revi: **Ohh, Ron and Hermione are cool too! But yes, L/J is my favorite ship! =D I have to say that "What Do You Think You're Doing.." was also my favorite chapter, it was very fun to write!

**Kt: **Thanks, hopefully you also liked this chapter too. I had to figure out a way to show you their history, when I thought, "hey, what about a couple of diary entries?" So yea =) And yes, you will see a couple of more entries from Lily's diary in the upcoming chapters.

**lilyZWnam77: **Wow, two in the morning? LoL, that's the time I usually sleep xD And about the long time it takes for me to update? Hopefully I won't suffer a writer's block like that again. ;;

**Chavela-Chica: **Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I'm happy that you like my story! Thanks lots for your review! ****

**Gryffspopgurl: **No, I don't think you sounded conceited at all, seriously! I like critical reviews, so it was all good =) I know, Ethan really isn't that.. erm.. adventurous in comparison with James. And yes, the way Ethan and Lily got together was really unromantic, not to mention totally odd xD As for Sirius, I'm glad you liked him! I also have to find a way to include Remus and ahem Peter soon. James is still totally cool, he seemed really soft in this chapter, huh? I have to be careful not to make him too soft though. =P

**Ice-princess2515: **Thank you so much for your review, and don't worry, I'll send my classmates your gratitude xD

**April: **Your idea is really good. I actually already had an idea of my own, but if I have trouble thinking of something or if I think that my idea needs improvement, I'll definitely keep your idea in mind. Thanks lots for sharing it with me! =) And thank you for your review. I really appreciate it!

**Singer: **LoL, thanks for your review! Yes, I will incorporate a lot of genres in my fic… some chapters will be overloaded with fluff and humor, others (such as this one and the previous one) will be more serious and realistic. Hopefully I balance all them out and it will all work out in the end. =)

**Jessica: **Wow, I don't have the ending to the entire story yet! Lol =D It would be really cool if I did, but as for now, nothing is certain yet ; )

**PVBookworm: **Yes, hopefully this chapter gave you much more insight. And I know that Ethan is really boring, lol. Perhaps we'll know Lily's reason in a future chapter? =)

**Black Slytherin Girl: **Lol, I know…. Took a really long time though, huh? --;;

**James's girl: **Yes, but cliffies are just oh, so fun to write! Hahahaha =P Okay, I'll back off, thanks a lot for your review!

**i-luv-ron-008: **Wow! Thanks so much for your compliment, it really means a lot to me! I'm glad you think of my story that way. I hope you'll continue to like it!

**Clyana: **Sigh That's just James isn't it? = I hope I'm not portraying him as too much of a playboy, but he still does have feelings for Lily deep down. He also cares for Ameile but not in a romantic way. The future chapters will hopefully explain all these conflicts. Thanks for your review!

**Jasmine: **Hey, Jas, thanks mucho for your reviews xD Don't rub it in though! Lol. But thanks lots for your inputs and stuff, they really do help! Oh, don't forget.. you still need to send me the pix from the dance! =P

**Browneyedgirl2004: **Awww! Thanks so much for your compliment! And, of course, James is veerrry hot ; ) I'm planning on making fanart based on this story. If I do, I'll be sure to post up the link so that you guys can check it out if you want. I'm not the best artist, I have to admit, but I would like to share how I picture everyone to be =)

**tRuE2U: **Hiiiii! Wow, I feel so honored to receive a review from you! I haven't given reviews to other stories either guilty smile eheh, been kinda lazy… --;; Oy.. Anyawyz, thanks so much for your review! I hope I didn't get you into too much trouble in writing class!

**Celestial Night: **Heyyyy, Varda's sister! Lol, I have to admit, when I read the first line I was like… "Woah, is she really Varda's sister?" Lol, that was hilarious! I've gotta give props to you! Congrats lots for making it into AMST! Medical Academy rocks! Hahahahahaha, make us proud! I've gotta meet ya.. well, good luck for your freshman year, I'll be sure to wave when I pass ya in the hallways! Freshman year.. dun dun duuuuuuun =P I'm just teasing, it's a really fun year. =) But I'll have to say, enjoy your social life and your freetime while you still can ;;; BA really cuts down on (what was) my social life.. sigh

**Vamperfly: **Well, yes indeed, our dear Lilykins did (or does? =O ) have feelings for James, ever since Hogwarts. M-hmm, well this chapter definitely gave a bigger insight into their relationship. Do tell me what you think!

**Dimpi: **Oh, well, at least you like Ameile sometimes! Eheheh, so many people hate her totally, so if you like her sometimes, that's good enough for me! And yes, at least I was able to fit in Sirius.. now where can I fit in Remus? Hm…

**Swishy ****Willow**** Wand: **Thanks so much for your review! I hope you liked this chapter too, I kind of put a wee bit of fluff between Lily and James.. until Megan came and interrupted xP

**Stacie: **Thanks lots for your review! I'm glad you like my style and the plot =)

**Thanks again you guys! =) **

****


	8. Closets, Goodbyes, and Promises

**Romance in the Hospital Wing **

**Wo Ai Ni16**

****

**Chapter 7: Closets, Goodbyes, and Promises **

**

* * *

**

_Sunday, Second Week of August; 11:20 A.M.: Hogwarts_

Mumbling to himself, James strode angrily back inside the castle, his pace hurried not in haste, but as a way to vent out his frustrations at the thoughts troubling his mind. Parts of his mutterings can be clearly heard to any passerby: "…never really understood her…women are so hard to understand…what in the world did she have against me in the first place?" and so on. The castle's enchanted paintings, which did not have any clue as to what was troubling the young wizard, raised their eyebrows thinking that the man was clearly odd to be talking to himself. However, James was too immured in his thoughts to care if anyone saw him, ghosts, paintings, or even the press be damned.

The most troubling thought that came in his mind was Lily's words, "You forget that you even have a girlfriend, James! Or are you still that womanizing jerk you've always been years ago? Ha! I should have known better than to think that you've actually changed!" Alright so maybe he wasn't the most saintly young man in the planet, but he learned the error of his ways! It wasn't his fault that he had been considered the most handsome bachelor back when they were students and that so many girls fell for him. He didn't even fully understand what was so tragic about dating almost any girl that fawned over him. After all, it wasn't so nice to leave all the girls upset, right? So somehow, all his actions were justified, right?

James rounded the corner and went a couple of flights up the stairs. His destination wasn't the Hospital Wing, however. He needed a quiet place to think for a while. Digging into the pocket of his robes, he pulled out a rather worn piece of parchment paper, the Marauder's Map. After making sure that no one was around him, James then muttered under his breath, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly, black ink began to appear on the paper, moving like spiders until an outline of the entire castle solidified.

His eyes searched throughout the map amidst the many black dots circling around the castle. The Hospital Wing can be clearly seen, since it was fairly large and had the densest concentration of people compared to the entire castle. And there it was: a small black dot labeled "Lily Evans" which was currently moving at a rather fast pace towards Wing's entrance. And there was another dot following her not too far behind labeled "Megan Stevens." James sighed and instantly spotted the Room of Requirement on the map. After confirming that no one else was around, James took the opportunity to run up a couple of more flights stairs. He quickly spotted the _Barnabas the Barmy _tapestry. Turning to the opposite side, he spotted and opened the door.

Inside, James instantly found a quiet, peaceful room with a large window pouring an ample amount of sunlight, giving it a peaceful glow. The room was bare except for a comfortable-looking Victorian couch and a polished mahogany table. James definitely had to give his thanks to the Room of Requirement; it had always been around whenever he needed it… unless Sirius was using it for another one of his night escapades, but he wasn't going to think about that now… **No**, James Potter had much more pressing business to attend to, more important than his Auror missions, or even fighting against Voldemort. He was facing one of the worst fears man had yet to conquer, and that was-

-understanding women.

Some people may find it surprising that James, _the _bachelor, _the_ celebrity still does not fully understand women. On the other hand, only a handful of people really know the real James. Sure, he dated a lot of girls when he was younger, but he did it mainly for the fun of it. Back then, he does admit that he was immature and the opposite sex seemed to be the most interesting thing to him at the moment. After all, a lot of hormone-driven teenage boys were like that, right?

But Lily… she was something else. She had always been the mature, all-caring, practically _saintly_ person that can find beauty in almost everything around her. She wasn't like the rest of the shallow girls he dated that only cared about their looks, which guy would be their date in upcoming Hogsmeade weekend, or what was the latest fashion.... _No_…she definitely was something else… if only he had noticed her sooner…

But in seventh year he did act more mature! He stopped picking on Snape…although, alright, he _may_ have given him the occasional glare or sneer, but nothing life-threatening…unless you considered that one hex life-threatening. Alright, maybe that may not have been such a good example, let's see…

Oh! How about the way he took his Head Boy responsibilities seriously? That definitely was a plus for him! He always took his duties seriously, and he rarely ever slacked off. The only occasions he did were during Moony's transformations, and even then he did his best to stay on top of things. But James had to admit, his favorite part of being Head Boy was the extra time he got to spend with Lily. It made it all the better for his favorite pastime namely, staring at Lily Evans and trying to add to his list of reasons why she, in all aspects, was the smartest, loveliest witch in the entire wizarding world. By the end of seventh year he came up with 198 reasons, not to mention the additional 30 that he came up with within three days after Graduation Day… So what if Lily was the center of his universe?

But back to the topic at hand, no matter how much he tried, Lily _still _would not give him a single date! James groaned out loud and grabbed his head in frustration. Just a _single_ date! Why couldn't she have given him a chance? He knew that deep down Lily loved, no scratch that, _still_ loves him! And aren't guys supposed to have trouble recognizing women's emotions?!

James sighed. He didn't know what to do. As seventh year drew to a close, he remembered how he had given up hope. By then, he was already enrolled to an academy to commence his auror training. All communication between him and Lily ceased after Graduation Day. It was only now, two years later, that they met again under very weird circumstances. Him, now a famous auror and her a MediWitch and… engaged. That single word sent a tidal wave of emotions, the most prominent ones being jealousy and frustration. Lily _Aberforth_? Even the name itself sounded terribly wrong! On the other hand, Lily _Potter_ sounded much, much better.

"I can offer so much more than _him_," James mumbled to himself as he spat the word "him" like it were a curse. But then again, a nagging voice inside his head reminded him of another redhead, though not in anyway as divine as Lily Evans: Ameile Collins. James now felt guilty. He had started to date Ameile as a way to try and get over Lily, since he never thought that he would get a chance again. But now that they've met… damn, how he wanted to break up with her! But at the same time James didn't want to hurt Ameile's feelings. After all, it wasn't _her _fault that she somehow looked like Lily and that she happened to fall in love with him… What to do?

James sighed. Not trying to be a narcissist, but, he could swear that God just made him irresistible to spite him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"The nerve of him! How dare he say such a thing, I'd never…" Megan was having a hard time discerning the words Lily was mumbling under her breath as she followed her friend towards the Wing. She could instantly tell that Lily was not the sort of person to be taken lightly when angered. _What did happen back there? _Megan wondered to herself. For the moment she decided to keep quiet and followed her friend.

Upon reaching the Hospital Wing, Lily was greeted by Alice. "Lily!" She called. "Frank and I are about to leave, have you seen James anywhere?"

"Don't even think of talking to me about _him_," the MediWitch answered back through clenched teeth. "Like I would even care where he and his big head are."

"Oh no, what happened now?" This time she directed the question at Megan who responded with a shrug.

Alice gave an exasperated sigh. _I would've thought we were all above this by now_, she thought. "Well, if you do see _him_," she said imitating Lily, "tell _him_ that he'd better get his arse out of this place quickly. I already had to chase two reporters away from Ameile."

"Whatever. I'm off to find Madam Pomfrey," she paused to give Alice a quick hug. "But do take care, okay, Alice? And say 'bye' to Frank for me."

"I will," she hugged Lily back. "Are you sure you're fine?" She whispered into her friend's ear.

"Yes," Lily's voice softened. "Just James acting like his usual self."

"If you're sure..."

"I'll see you, Lily, Alice," Megan said as she went off to do some work.

"See you, Megan." Lily walked away towards the main corridor. She looked from side to side, craning her neck a little to try and catch a glimpse of Madam Pomfrey. Passing a closet, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and a hand clamp on her mouth. She felt herself being dragged inside the closet and saw a hand close the door. The arm turned her around and through a lighted lamp she saw-

"Potter!"

The auror clamped his hand on her mouth again. "Look," he whispered fervently, "you didn't let me finish, so we'll just have to finish our conversation here." He took out his wand and whispered a Silencing Charm on the door. He turned back to Lily who had a dumbfounded look on her face, her mouth slightly open. "Don't look at me like that!" He snapped.

Lily closed her mouth and shut her eyes tightly, her fingers massaging her temples. _Breath calmly and deeply… count from 1 to 10… 1, 2,3.. damn it, I don't have the time for this. _She opened her eyes and looked at James pleadingly. "How desperate can you get, to drag me in a closet of all places!?"

James was taken back by her comment. _'Desperate'? Is that how she sees me? Well…alright, point taken. _"It's not my fault!" He said, neither of them whispering any longer. "You were the one who had to act immature and run away from a serious conversation!" She _still_ had that dumbfounded look on her face. "Damn it, Lily! Stop looking at me like that!"

"Me?! I am the one who acted immature?"

"Well, yes, you were the one who didn't even let me finish what I was trying to say!" Came the indignant reply.

"Fine, then! If it's so important, spit it out already! Madam Pomfrey is waiting for me, and I don't have all day," Lily said, beginning to tap her foot. James hated it when she did that.

"Well the thing is..uh…I still… I still have feelings for you," James said, his voice increasingly getting softer.

The stern look in Lily's shoulders disappeared and her shoulders sagged. "James…" she said. _What can she say now? The man practically said that he loved her, and she engaged! What is a rational young woman to do? _

James didn't wait for her to continue. "I know, I know, you're _engaged_-" (Lily didn't like the way he said that) –"and I have a girlfriend," he said, scowling. "But, I can explain, Lils!" He grabbed her hand in his. Lily could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. "The thing is, after seventh year I didn't think I'd see you again. I mean, Sirius, Remus, and I were all planning to become aurors and I knew you were going to do your own thing. So I thought that I could just move on… but then I meet you now and-"

"James, don't do this," Lily interrupted him. "I mean…so many things have changed and-"

"What things, Lils?! _What_ things changed? The fact that I may be famous now or that you're engaged!" He hugged Lily close to him, resting his chin on top of her head. "But, Lils, tell me this: have your feelings for me changed?" He could feel her tense at his question. He tried to calm her by brushing his fingers through her auburn locks. He didn't want to press her for her response. They both stood there silently until they began to hear voices beyond the door:

"An all-purpose bone growing potion?" They heard a man's voice ask. They heard another voice respond but the person was too far away for them to hear the words clearly. Instead they heard the man again, "This closet?" Another response from the other person. Lily and James tensed as they heard footsteps come towards them and they saw the shadow of the person's feet in front of the door.

"Shit!" James exclaimed, the two of them instantly jumping away from each other. He forgot to put a Locking Charm on the door!

Lily also cursed under her breath as they couldn't do anything but wait as they watched the knob turn. They both squinted at the great amount of light that poured into the closet, momentarily silhouetting the person's face.

The person in front of them stopped his whistling as he asked, "Jamsie-boy? Ha! I knew it!" He smirked at seeing the beet-red couple rather close.

James shielded his eyes and was relieved to see the person. "Padfoot! It's just you, thank god."

"The one and only," the Marauder said, bowing low and reaching for Lily's hand to kiss it. Lily rolled her eyes at his antics. "Prongs, you sly dog, I didn't know that you were so desperate to get it on in a closet." At this Lily gave an indignant scoff. Sirius looked beyond Lily and James, inspecting the tiny space. "Yes, definitely not that romantic." He sighed sadly, shaking his head. "I always thought that you two would do it in the Astronomy Tower or at least in the Shrieking Shack but I suppose this is the most convenient spot, huh?"

James sighed. There was no stopping his friend.

"Well then," Sirius beaming, clapping his hands together as if they just finished discussing some business negotiation, "Madam Pomfrey, the dear doll, likes me to get her an all-purpose bone growing potion!" Lily and James turned around and noticed that, indeed, there were shelves behind them containing all sorts of medical potions in different shapes and sizes of vials. Lily skimmed through their labels and found the one.

"Here," she said, handing Sirius a round vial. The Marauder saluted and stepped away, about to close the closet door. "I think I'm going to leave you two lovebirds alone for some.. ahem.. private time. Good luck, James! Make Padfoot proud!" And with a wink to his comrade he shut the closet door.

Lily and James turned to each other after what just happened. Simultaneously, the two began laughing, forgetting all about the ruined atmosphere or how embarrassed they were. After a good minute or two their laughter began to subside and a slight awkwardness filled the air.

"Well, Lils?" James prompted, smiling to try and lighten the mood. Not that Padfoot had done it too much already.

"Yes?" She asked, although she knew what he meant. She hoped he would drop the question.

James sighed lightly, "Did your feelings for me change?" He reached out to hold Lily's hand in his.

Lily bowed her head, trying to hide her blush and her slightly watering eyes. Damn, why was her life like some cheesy soap opera? Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but she seriously didn't know what to say! The truth is she _still_ had feelings for him which didn't seem to have changed at all. But can she actually voice out those words?

She shook her head, "James, please don't make me do this." She looked up pleading at him. She never felt so confused in her life before. Everything was so unstable, and she thought that her engagement with Ethan had given her the stability she sought. But a few days of meeting James again and her whole world turned upside down once more.

"Please, Lils, I have to know," James pleaded back, although it took all his willpower not to let her pleading countenance get to him. He gripped her hand more firmly.

Lily bowed her head once more and gave a sad smile, not sure if James could see it or not. "But you already know…" she whispered loud enough for him to hear.

James was stunned by the comment. He released her hand and stepped back. "Then I don't understand, why can't we be together then?" He began to get angry.

"James! Nothing changes that quickly. You know I'm engaged, I can't…" Lily lost the will to continue. She felt so much guilt tearing her.

His shoulders sagged, feeling despondent. Deep down he knew she was right…Lily was usually right. If he wanted to win Lily he'll have to do things slowly. Forcing up a half-smile, he took Lily's hand. "Alright, Lily, I understand." Opening the closet door he looked both ways down the corridor to confirm that the coast was clear. "No one's here," he said.

The two stepped out, dusting off their robes. Lily smiled up at James. "Alice wanted me to tell you that you have to leave as soon as you can. The media was here and I think they're still persistent in interviewing you."

"Damn, forgot about that." James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I guess I have to go then. Moody's definitely going to rip my head off."

Lily laughed at his comment.

"I'll be writing to you, 'kay, Lils?" He bent down to give her a hug, not letting her go for a while. James smiled inwardly as he felt her hug him back.

"Stay safe, okay, James?" Lily's voice wavered a little.

James hugged her tighter before releasing her and put his usual confident grin back on. "I will, and that's a Marauder's promise." He saluted to her before turning around, walking swiftly down the corridor.

Lily watched him walk away, her throat feeling tight for some odd reason. She noted the way the sunlight shone on his hair, giving it brown highlights. She watched the way his deep burgundy auror robes billowed out behind him and watched his confident stride, not once turning back.

Lily straightened herself, holding her chin back high before she too turned around and walked down the corridor in the opposite direction. Under her breath she whispered, "Don't you ever forget your promise, James."

-------------------------------o

Well, another chapter typed and done. I've had the first half done for quite a while now, but I didn't know what to do for Lily's part of the chapter. So many reviewers have been pressing me to hurry up, but I just can't speed things too much! So I hope that the slight fluff in the chapter will suffice for now.

I have to admit, writing the closet incident was h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s. It's so fun to write Sirius! –sigh- Such a charmer and a pervert that sweet guy is… **"Good luck James! Make Padfoot proud!"** That, I think, is my favorite line so far, and probably will be for the rest of this story xD

I've been trying to do some fanart of my own whilst I write this story. I have one that I have yet to retouch and scan, of the glade scene from the last chapter. I did however finish my two portraits of Lily and James. You can find the URL's in my bio.

I'm not too sure where to go on from here, I already have plans for future chapters but I still have to bridge all of them together and write the transitions from each main event to the next. I am planning on having a ball for our dear characters, which if all goes as planned, will contain an extra fluffy scene between our dear couple. Then I am still contemplating of some evil schemes for Voldemort… I'm trying to stick to the canon of Lily and James escaping from our villain three times.

One more thing… I'm not sure if this will apply to anyone here, but if I review any ficcies, it will be anonymous cuz my firewall won't let me log in =( And since this is the only computer in my house (and my parents being overly-paranoid of spyware and viruses) I can only use the library's computer to update my fics and log in…. sad, ain't it? =(

**---------------------------------------o**

**My individual responses: **

**Tiger Lily21: **I'm glad that you like Ameile! I've been trying to take the hatred away from her and Ethan but eh… lol, I can't blame you guys so much if you don't like Ethan.. I mean, he is such a bore.

**i-luv-ron-008: **Well, I sorta got the two together as friends by the end of this chapter… eheh.. I hope that's enough for now ;

**Swishy ****Willow**** Wand: **Yes, indeed, Megan did have to interrupt the two. So did Sirius in this chapter actually, but hey, the opportunity was too good to pass up, and I needed to lighten things a little with a wee bit of humor! ; )

**Browneyedgirl2004: **I'm glad you liked the chapter! And I hope this one was good too… I hope I didn't make the slight fluff corny.. did I? =

**Skye133: **LoL, I wasn't going for ditzy, but ehh… lol.. Anyway, I'm glad you like the story!

**Lily Natalia Evans: **Thanks a lot! Your words really encouraged me =) Yes, that is true, ne? Oh well, I hope that the slight fluff in this chapter was okay too =D

**MilesFromNormal: **Aww! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make people sad. A little sad, yes, but not that much! It is sweet isn't it? To have a guy as dedicated and in love (and desperate) as James….if only I've seen a guy like that. Unfortunately all the ones I am acquainted with haven't achieved that level of "maturity" yet = As for how to pronounce Ameile, it's: Ah-"Meal" Yeah, lol, that's just how I spell her name.

**Chavela-Chica: **Hahahaha, yes, some readers were really put down by Megan's untimely interruption…lol, and Sirius also interrupted that moment, but I hope you guys were happy in the end for the little bit of humor I squeezed into this chapter. =D

**Arwenundomneil: **Hmm… for them getting together? Well let's see.. James definitely made a big step in his admittance to Lily that he really has no romantic feelings for Ameile (the poor girl).. I think they'll get together relatively soon.. eheh, =P They will get together gradually, I think this chapter was a big step for their relationship, although to Sirius's disappointment, Lily and James have not done anything of that nature.

**Crazy4Padfoot: **LoL, well my update was slow but eh, good enough =P Judging by your pen name, I hope you liked Sirius's little performance in this chapter!

**Cherry: **LOL! No, seriously, the more reviews the happier I am! I hope you like this chapter as well! And yes, I had them in different relationships to add even more spice and wood to the fire! (okay that didn't make total sense, but you know what I mean) And Ameile and Ethan are not all that bad! Lol And yes, I am _very _much into anime. Lol, I'm an otaku at heart! And I'm on my looooooong, slooow voyage into learning Japanese. Inuyasha's my new obsession for now lol, I luurv his puppy ears too much. And I'm only.. er.. 1/8th Chinese.. yes, I think that's right.. I got it from my mom's side. But actually I got inspiration for this name from an AMV I watched (Fushigi Yuugi) which had a Chinese song called "Wo Ai Ni" and, I fell in love with it =D Ja mata ne, watashi no otomodachi!

**Wind Whisperer: **That is a good guess! =D But no comments for now =P

**Pale pink roses: **Yes, I do have to reveal that in a later chapter. But I'm just giving things a little bit at a time. That last chapter gave away _a lot_ of the information you guys needed to know. =)

**Puppet Heart: **Ah, cool! I'm glad that I have your attention =D That makes it all the better for me! I hope you like this chapter!

**Animagifan4278: **Wow! I'm really touched by your review! Thank you oooooh so much =) –wipes happy tear from her eye- I'll do my best to keep this story a top rate one! Thanks again!

**EvilAngel995: **No! That wasn't rude at all… dammit, stupid stupid mistake.. I fixed it now, thanks so much! Re-reading the story I found a couple of typos to my great disappointment. Thanks much for your review and for pointing that out!

**KristiexxNguyen: **Thanks for your review! =D

**HiHello: **LoL, too bad this update wasn't that quick, but eh.. at least it's here now! =)

**Revi: **Indeed, Lily and James do have a history! LOL

**Pineapple: **Well, they are closer in this chapter.. at least! Thanks for your review! ****

**slippersRfuzzy: **Thank you so much for your review! It really made me happy! Thanks lots! ****

**Gryffspopgurl: **lol, I don't mind long reviews at all! The longer the better, really =D I'm glad that you liked the glade scene, I hope that I didn't overdo the fluff in this chapter either. It's just that so many reviewers want more action, so I decided to put some extra moments for Lily and James I have yet to find an entrance for Remus, I'm working on it!

**Lily taylor: **Well, they didn't totally hook up in this chapter, but at least they made amends, ne?

**Kt: **Thanks lots! I worked really hard on the diary entries to not make everything too obvious (rather than a boring narration), and I'm happy that you liked the glade scene! =D Thanks much for your feedback!

**Lis: **LoL, well I guess this chapter will make you happy then, they're feelings are now out of the open, they both know that they love each other (although Lily didn't say it straightforward)… It seems that James now knows that he wants to break up with Ameile..now if only we could nudge Lily into ditching Ethan…

**Dee****: **Hmm… I guess this chapter didn't release all the sparks you would've liked.. maybe just a small spark? LoL, but anyways, James finally gets to tell Lily (in a closet, of all places!) And Lily somewhat admits that she also loves him =P

**FallenFlower: **Yeah! This story alone is more than enough in my hands (which makes sigh in awe at how some authors could manage so many fics at once). I hope to God that I even get to finish this fic soon enough (at the rate I'm going, I'm getting there veeerrry slowly). =T

**Ice-princess2515: **Yeah!? Isn't it just so frustrating? But hey, they're relationships make the whole story a lot more interesting LoL. I am having so much (maybe too much) fun torturing our poor characters… why must I be so sadistic? =P

**LilynjamesAAF: **Thanks much for your input! I didn't have any negative comments on the glade scene at all, so I suppose I was just getting to picky, ne?

**Misakichi1: **Aaah! An Angelic Layer Fan! Awesome! One of my favorite animes, I never got to see the beach episode though.. which is the one I'm dying to watch. I'm an Ojirou/Misaki shipper (who cares about the petty age difference!). How 'bout you? Anyways thanks for your review!

**Jill: **Hahahahahhaaha! Your review made me so happy! LOL Yes, I can totally picture James! That's one fanart of mine I was drawing a while ago. I'm glad that you are one of the very few people who feel sorry/tolerate Ameile. I don't mean to make people so mad at her and Ethan! –sigh- Oh well, I can't help their biases anyway. Thanks so much again for your review, it really brightened my day!

**Singer: **Thank you so much for your review. I'm glad that you liked the diary entries. I've never had diary entries of my own.. my poor incapability of setting aside time to write never allowed me to. I hope you get to review again!

**Silverstarr: **Wow, I'm so happy that I was actually a source of inspiration! That makes me so happy. Thanks lots for your review!

**Lintucuiel: **Thank you for your review! =D

**Nicole: **LoL, why can't I write a series? Anyway, I'm sorry but I'm not planning on killing of Ameile so soon. I still need her to stick around for a while!

**Fate's fallen angel: **LoL, unfortunately I'm only partially Chinese and I do not know any other words apart from 'thank you' and 'hello.' Currently, I'm trying to learn Japanese, then Korean, then maybe Mandarin if I'm still up to it! xD Too bad you don't like Ameile and Ethan too much.. although I can't say that I blame you! Thanks much for your many reviews! =D

**Oliverwoodschic: **Oooh, an Oliver Woods fan! Cool! But I'm still a Daniel Radcliffe fan at a heart ; ) And don't worry, when James leaves, it won't be the last time that he'll be seeing the Hospital Wing, there's lots more in plan for our two lovebirds!

**Tootrickyforyou: **Yes.. it seems that they're the only ones separating our favorite couple… but alas, that is not the case.. there's lots more of obstacles between our two lovebirds… poor Sirius, I suppose James won't be able to make him proud that soon yet, ne? xD

**Daveigh: **Thanks for your review! I'm glad that you like my writing style as well as my plot =)

**Celestial Night: **Wow! I'm so happy and honored! Thanks soooo much! =D And yeah, I do sing… gah.. –is currently blushing- Just a hobby of mine though, lol. I'm glad that you love my writing! It really makes me happy. Thanks lots again!

**Dimpi: **LoL, that was what I was going for! I want everyone to have a picture of Ethan as this sweet, yet boring guy… but then again looks can be deceiving, ne?

**Nanci: **Yes, bickering couples are cute! They make writing and reading about them all the better. As for a kiss, I'll work on that! Thank you very much for your review =)

**Ruth3: **Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you like my writing style. As for your question about AU's I got this definition from "Fanfiction Dictionary": "This is where an author will choose to stray from the canon of the show and create events which are on their own timeline. Usually this is when an author will deny a character's death or act like an episode never happened or say "what if" episode A had happened differently, or they will act like the show stopped a certain place and keep writing as if there are no new episodes after that." Hope that answers your question! =D

**Luthien RhiannonCat5: **I'm glad you love Sirius, I have to admit, he's one of the best characters to write. I love his sense of humor, and the extra pervertedness I bestowed upon his nature. As for my comments, yea I try to avoid author's notes within the story as much as possible. And I am very humorous ; ) Although I definitely did not update fast, I hope you'll still review!

**Me: **Thanks a lot for your review! It definitely gave me a happiness boost =)

**Eldarwen Ancalime: **Yup! They both like each other very, very much… they just have to pass quite a handful of obstacles before this author brings them together =D

**Lady Lily: **Thank you so much for that grammar mini-lesson. I have to admit, that's one of the things I'm rusty with. I have sooo much to edit on this fic, especially the first few chapters. Thank you so much for bringing that up!

**Animalluvr75: **Thanks lots for your review! I'm happy that you like my story =)

**Btzfungurl09: **Omg, I'm so sorry for the many spaz attacks I've cursed upon you! =O I didn't mean to be so tortuous, honest! Well.. okay, maybe a liiiil wee bit tortuous.. but not more! I loved your reviews they were so funny! And sad, cuz I've made you wait so long. Well I hope that this chapter made the spaz attacks worthwhile. =)

**tRuE2U: **Thanks again for another review! It really makes me happy to hear from you, and I always look forward to reading your comments =)

**Lilykins: **Thanks! I'm glad that the glade scene wasn't sappy. None of the other reviewers said it was sappy either.. so I guess it was just me being paranoid, huh? Lol, oh well, best to be too careful rather than too careless =D (always trying to look at the brighter side of things, my damn optimism)

**Jasminee: **Hey, Jas, yea I gotta get the ball in the fic sooner or later..(most likely the first option). I assure you the ball will be full of fluff… thas all I gotta say for now! =P Cya round, PUMP buddy =D

**Skittles in Aqua: **Cool name! Sure, I'll read your story! goes off to read her story and review There, I posted my review! Mind, I only have it on anonymous since my firewall can't let me log in!

**Vitamin: **Thanks lots for your review!

**James and Lily 4eva: **Sorry! Don't worry, I won't ever let go of this story.. if ever, I'll just have a hiatus here and there…. =o -whistles innocently-


	9. Unnerving Peace, New Identities, and Fut...

**Romance in the Hospital Wing **

**By Wo Ai Ni16**

**Chapter 8: Unnerving Peace, New Identities, and Future Plans **

* * *

_Thursday, Third Week of August; 10:00 A.M.: Auror Main Headquarters, Alastor Moody's Office _

"So, sir, do you have any new leads as to what Voldemort may be planning next?" The raspy voice asked. It belonged to an odd-looking man with grizzly hair and a rather chiseled face. His face showed utmost seriousness, with eyes narrowed and furrowed eyebrows. He was looking warily at the hooded wizard sitting in front of his cluttered desk. The wizard's head was bowed low with his robe's hood covering his face well. His entire outfit was long and flowing to ensure that any discernment of his physical features would be impossible.

"To be honest, good _sir_, I'm not too sure. The Dark Lord has been increasingly secretive about his tactics and will only allow those of his innermost ring to know any information," the mysterious wizard said, his voice deep, calculating, with a small amount of constrained sarcasm.

The chiseled-faced auror groaned, definitely not liking the latter's response. He banged his fist upon the desk, knocking some worn parchment papers off. The auror turned to the other wizard in front of the desk. "So what do you suggest we do now, Albus?!"

Despite the situation and the angry glare directed at him, Albus Dumbledore smiled. "Alastor, calm down, all of our spies are doing their best. We'll simply have to think of a plan without knowledge of Voldemort's tactics."

Dumbledore's reply was met with a growl. Once more Alastor Moody glared at the mysterious, hooded wizard beside Albus. He stood up and began pacing back and forth, muttering under his breath, "… 'a plan without Voldemort's tactics'… It's easier said than done, Albus!" He pointed an accusing finger at the spy, "Are you sure he's even trustworthy? He can be Voldemort's spy! How can you be so sure that he's not two-timing us?!"

Albus Dumbledore smiled once more. "Alastor, don't you have faith in me?"

He mumbled an affirmative.

"Then I can assure you that this man will not betray us. I have my reasons, although unfortunately I have been bound to secrecy not to share them." Albus turned a kind but knowing eye to the hooded wizard. "You may go now, thank you."

The spy nodded at Dumbledore, standing up and walking in a fast pace towards the door which opened before he could reach the doorknob. In stepped another wizard in auror robes. The spy paused and stiffened, although it was hard to tell what the expression on his face was since he still kept his head bowed low.

Alastor gave his usual bark of a greeting, "Remus! It's about time you showed up. Where's Potter and Black?"

Remus sighed softly and straightened his unkempt auror robes, obviously trying to buy time and avoiding answering his question. In the meantime the spy took this opportunity to make his exit. Remus gave a curious glance before turning to Alastor asking, "Who's he?"

Moody grumbled, "Just a spy who's been giving us 'help.' But where in the bloody hell is Potter and Black?!"

"Well… you see, er…" Remus was definitely hiding something, his expression sheepish.

Albus interrupted the tense moment with his innocent, "Oh, Remus, would you fancy a lemon drop?"

Remus smiled, thankful for the interruption. "Thanks, Albus." He popped one in his mouth.

Mad-Eye sighed. Why did everything seem to be pitted against him today? "It's the media again, isn't it?" He asked Remus. He didn't even wait for him to reply before saying, "I swear, if Potter or Black weren't one of my top aurors their continuous absences and lack of punctuality would have made me fire them long ago."

Just then, with his usual bad sense of timing came Sirius: "Hey Moody, you old chap! Sorry we're late!" his voice boomed unceremoniously as he and James entered the room. Their robes were slightly askew and they both looked as if they just had a run-in with death.

"It was the media again…sorry," James panted. He took a seat next to Remus and Albus with Sirius following suit.

At this point Remus finished his lemon drop and was able to say lightly, "I think Moody and all of us know that by now, James."

"I know, I said I was sorry!" James almost looked like a child who was just scolded by his mother. How cute. The media was always the reason for his lateness, which of course is the reason why Moody has not been too proud of him lately. It wasn't his fault; he didn't ask for his fame. He was practically born in it, since his entire family was one of the most prominent in the wizarding world. James just wished Moody would quit trying to bite his head off all the time, not literally of course.

"Forget it for now James…we'll discuss _that_ problem later. As for now we-" He made a gesture showing that he was referring to himself and Dumbledore "-are trying to come up with some battle tactics against Voldemort. The past few days have been too peaceful. As I'm sure you all know, nothing happened ever since that attack in Diagon Alley. By now we should at least be hearing of some murders or death threats."

"How about our spies, Alastor?" Remus suggested. "Surely they must have something-"

"Again, we have nothing," Moody cut off impatiently. "Not even the smallest piece of information! Which is why I called this quick meeting in the first place, to try and come up with _something_ based on _nothing_."

James fumbled with the cuff of his robes, not being able to think of something useful. "_Tactics…tactics…what kind of strategy would be good during this time?_" Was what he said to himself in his head. Personally, James just wished he could disguise himself as a Death Eater and simply Avada Kedavra the stupid bastard, but of course things weren't _that_ easy in the real world. Lost in his thoughts, James didn't fully pay attention to what Remus and Sirius were saying to Moody and Dumbledore. He could see their mouths moving in speech, but he didn't have the energy these days to focus. Turning his gaze to the fireplace, which provided most of the light and warmth in the rather dark and dampy room, he watched its flames flicker and dance. The fire was a beautiful, almost seductive mixture of crimson and honey colors…the same exact colors Lily's hair had whenever the sun shone down her tresses. James smiled lightly to himself when he remembered their last meeting and his promise to her to always stay safe no matter what.

Remus glanced at James worriedly because of his silence to find him staring at the fire. His worried frown quickly turned into a smile when he noted the goofy-looking grin that was planted on James's face. He didn't really need to guess what his friend was thinking. The look was the same exact look James had in his school years whenever he was thinking of Lily. Sirius was more than happy to give him a good detailed account of what happened in their stay at the Hospital Wing when they reunited a couple of days ago. He was even more than happy to tell Remus about a certain intimate moment between James and Lily in (at this Remus sighed) a closet of all places. Remus has known James for a very long time now and he knew that his friend can sometimes be rather irrational and spontaneous when it comes to love. He just wished that James won't make too much a fool of himself in the future. Silently, he and Sirius are more than happy that James and Lily had been given another chance at their relationship…although he felt some sympathy for Ameile, who seemed completely oblivious to the new developments.

"So, James, what do you think?" Moody barked, disturbing the love-entranced man out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" James said stupidly as he quickly turned and blushed at being caught not paying attention. "Oh, tactics, right! Yeah, well… I think…" He racked his brain to think of the smartest plan he had… "Er..how about we just wait?" He suggested to Moody. Alright that _definitely_ sounded a lot smarter in his head.

Moody's eye twitched with irritation, obviously not pleased with James's so-called plan. On the other hand, Albus smiled and encouraged him, "I think that's a rather good idea, James, do continue."

With a little more confidence James said, "Well... given the circumstances, there's not much we can do then, is there? I think it might actually be best if we just wait for his next move. In the meantime we can give the rest of the aurors a well-deserved rest and maybe even try to recruit more people if we can." Not knowing what else to say, James turned to Sirius to see if he had anything good to add.

Sirius snorted and held up his hands. "Hey, don't look at me, Prongs, I just attack and capture Death Eaters."

"Yeah, you're right," Remus said. "If we actually asked you to make up a battle plan the entire wizarding world is _definitely_ doomed."

"Oy! I resent that!"

Moody sighed as the two continued their good-natured bickering while Albus and James chuckled. "Fine, it's settled," Moody said. "We'll wait for the bastard's next move. I'll notify the rest of the aurors to contact me directly of _any_ suspicious event. Until then…CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Albus smiled and stood up, "Since everything seems to be in order, I'll have to take my leave. Good day to you, everyone." And with that Dumbledore exited out the door.

"I guess we'll all go too, Moody old chap. My dear Arabella is waiting for me!" With that Sirius practically hopped out of the chair and made out the door, Remus following after saying a "good-bye" to his superior. James took the opportunity to make a hasty leave before Moody stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh no you don't, Potter. _We_ have some things to discuss. Take a seat."

James inwardly groaned but complied. Even he knew when to test Moody's patience and when not to. "Yes?" He asked meekly.

Moody leaned forward on his desk, elbows resting on top of its hard surface as he looked rather intensely at James's eyes. "We have to discuss your certain problems with your media and paparazzi."

James instantly switched into his defensive mode, "Sir, it's not my fault, I really do my best not to-"

"I know, I know it's not your fault," Moody grinned softly to assure that he was no longer that angry with James, "but that still does not give us a good excuse." He paused before continuing, "James, I'm sure you know all of this by now, so I'll be blunt. Voldemort is after you; he's been after the Potter line for quite some time now and we have to do our best to take any and every measure possible to avoid further deaths."

James clenched his teeth and nodded gravely, being completely serious now. Although Moody was right that he did know all of this information, it was still disconcerting to be reminded about it. "So what do you suggest then?"

At this Moody's eye sparkled in mischief. "I think it's time you got your own new identity."

"My own new what?" Came the surprised reply.  
  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
_12:03 P.M., Auror Main Headquarters_

At the notice that the entire auror department had a couple of days off, everyone was taking advantage and were quickly exiting out the doors. Remus was very much surprised at the quick change in the atmosphere. Just days ago it was tense with apprehension at Voldemort's increasingly bold and deadlier attacks, but this time the entire department was filled with the sound of happy chatter as co-workers talked to one another about what they're going to do in their surprise vacation. He and Sirius were amongst the happy crowd, talking about miscellaneous things as they slowly made their way to one end of the building where they were planning to meet Frank, Alice, and Arabella.

"So how are things between you and Arabella going, Padfoot?" Remus asked as he quickly packed his briefcase with some office papers.

"Very good actually," Sirius said, beaming with pride. "I really think she's the one, Moony. I just want to give it some more time to stabilize things more." I think it's time for me now to give you guys another boring talk about Sirius and Arabella's relationship. But it's for your own good. Yes, Arabella was in the same year as Lily, Alice, Frank and the Marauders. Yes, she was also in Gryffindor. No, in my fic Arabella is not a squib; in fact she's a halfblood. And no, in my story I want to have Arabella as a beautiful, youthful, young woman who is only slightly partial with cats instead of the old, not as youthful, woman overwhelmingly obsessive with cats that is the canon version in J.K. Rowling's works. So yes, I _am_ somehow straying away from the canon this time, but hey it's my fic and this is how I like it. And it seems to be the same in the majority of the Lily and James works I have read and admired. So then let's get to the more detailed parts, shall we? Arabella was also amongst the close circle of friends with Lily, Alice, and Sarah(remember chapter one?), so during the time that Lily's relationship began to be strained with the Marauders, Arabella and Alice followed likewise. But once seventh year came rolling along and everything between the two parties seemed resolved, Sirius started dating Arabella and continued to do so. They were able to keep a close contact with one another since Arabella worked as a secretary in the Auror Headquarters. Okay, I think that does it for now… sorry for the interruption by the way…

"And that reminds me, Moony," Sirius said, turning to his friend as they continued to walk once more. "When will you have a woman of your own?"

Remus smiled and blushed lightly at his friend's innocent question. "No, I'm not too sure I'll ever have one, I mean with my condition and all…" He said trying to be nonchalant but deep down feeling frustrated. He hated being a werewolf; it did not help his social or financial situation any. Now that Sirius reminded him, a woman would be nice… but of course, who'd accept a werewolf for a husband who'll just end up being a burden?

Sirius seemed to sense his friend's thoughts as he placed a comforting arm around Remus's shoulders. "Ah, don't worry Moony, I'm sure there's someone out there."

"Remus, Sirius! Wait up!" They heard someone call behind them. The two turning around, they saw Ameile who was smiling as she weaved her way through the crowd, eventually reaching them. She was breathless but it seemed that she looked more than happy, "Can you imagine it? Three days off! Never would I have imagined Moody to ever do something like that."

"Actually," Sirius began, "you have to thank Prongs he's the one who suggested it in the first place."

"James?" Ameile asked, surprised. "Well this is just perfect! Where is he by the way? I was hoping we could take advantage of this time to go out on a date."

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance before Remus answered, "I don't know. We just came back from a meeting with Moody and he kept James behind."

Ameile's expression saddened, "He's in trouble again, isn't he?" She felt guilty since she was somehow involved in the media's increased activities. Ever since word got out that James Potter had a girlfriend, hordes of reporters doubled their efforts and began to try and infiltrate any public or private place that she and James stayed in. The Auror Headquarters and the Ministry of Magic were the only few places that they were totally safe since the intense security measures forbade any non-employee to trespass.

"Don't worry about it, Ameile, I'm sure Moody will let him off the hook soon enough," Sirius assured. When she still didn't look satisfied, he said, "Since Jamsie-boy isn't here yet, why don't you come with us? We're off to lunch with Alice, Frank, and Arabella in this new café at Diagon Alley."

Ameile smiled but kindly declined the invitation. "It's alright, I'll try to catch up with you guys next time. If you get to meet James, tell him to meet me at my place, okay? We haven't been spending that much time together lately." And with that she turned and disappeared into the crowd of people.  
  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
_Guest Bedroom #8, Common Area: _

Megan was currently reading through the latest Witch Weekly issue during her lunchtime break. The front page cover was what quickly got her attention. Smacked in the middle of the cover for the entire world to see was a picture of James and Ameile sitting outside in what looked like a restaurant. The two seemed to be engaged in some casual conversation while picking at their food from time to time. Above the picture in big bold letters was the headline: "James Potter and Ameile Collins, the New Couple!" Megan frowned as she turned the magazine to the page the article was:

**The Wizarding World's Newest Celebrity Couple! **

Yes, you've heard it right. James Potter, our beloved number one eligible bachelor from our teen version's last issue is no longer eligible! He has currently hooked up with fellow auror Ameile Collins, and according to them, they've been together for a year now. Fellow fans have definitely been more than surprised at the sudden news but are cheering for the newly revealed couple.  
Ameile Collins is also a Hogwarts graduate, only one year after James. Although they both admit that they weren't in love when they were students, Ameile-

"Oh my goodness, not you too, Megan!" Cried a voice, surprising Megan and making her jump. She looked up to see Lily leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom. With Dumbledore's permission, they were able to re-arrange the guest bedrooms so that she and Lily shared a Common Room along with two other MediWitches.

Megan blushed and hastily shoved the magazine along with several others as Lily went down the stairs and plopped down beside her on the couch. They both were tired of always being cooped up in the Wing and spent most of their breaks in the Common Room.

"Well, you have to admit it is interesting," Megan said meekly, trying to defend herself. Lily gave her a playful cold glare before laughing at her own foolishness.

"I'm sorry, Megan, I guess I just haven't been in the best of moods lately," she said before reaching for the fruit bowl and grabbing an apple and biting into it.

Megan smiled in reply as she turned and savored the soup she was currently eating for lunch. She knew what was causing Lily to be so uptight the past week or so. Ever since Ameile was revealed to have been James's girlfriend, her friend became more snappish for _some_ reason. Megan smiled to herself. Jealousy was definitely not an emotion to be trifled with. Although she had to admit that she also had quite a crush on James, Megan knew better than to interfere with him and Lily. So why not try to help Alice bring back Lily and James instead? Megan narrowed her eyes slightly at her thoughts. Now if only she knew what to do with that Ameile Collins, the poor dear…

Lily in the meantime was watching her friend and laughed lightly at the change of her expressions. "Sickle for your thoughts?" She asked jokingly.

Megan glanced at her friend. "What did you say?"

"Never mind, it was just an expression."

Megan frowned, not really understanding Lily before both turned their heads over to the window at the sound of tapping. There, an owl was currently perched on the windowsill, carrying a pack of letters in its beak.

"Oh look, it's the mail!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
_Diagon Alley, Bagginson Café 12:30 P.M. _

"I'll also have the Manager's Special, thank you," Arabella said to the waitress.

The blonde witch smiled as the enchanted quill wrote the last order on the parchment before gathering all the menus. "Alright then, your orders shall be ready in about ten minutes," she said in a bubbly voice.

Sirius elbowed Remus winking towards the waitress that just walked away. "What do you say about that one, Remus? Nice figure, eh? I'll have to admit, she can use a little more trimming in the back department but apart from that- OW!" Sirius clutched his shin under the table while turning to his girlfriend, "Bella, dear, I'm hurt!"

Arabella glared daggers at Sirius, "And you'll be hurt more if you don't stop. Leave poor Remus alone."

"Is that jealousy I detect in your voice, my love?"

Remus sighed. That was the third female Sirius pointed out within the past twenty minutes. Although he somehow appreciated Sirius's efforts, he would prefer it more if he'd stop. Usually Sirius's 'help' turns out to be more of a burden.

"Alright you two, stop it with your lovers' spats. I've had enough with Lily and James already," Frank complained good-naturedly as he wrapped an arm around Alice.

Arabella and Sirius finally stopped after Arabella had her final say by kicking her boyfriend again in the shins.

Remus was thankful for the change of topic, "So do you guys think that they will get together?" He asked.

Alice looked thoughtful for a second before replying, "Yes. I'm sure of it, a hundred percent."

Frank looked more doubtful though, "But what about Ameile?"

Arabella took a sip of her iced tea and sighed, "Yeah, and don't forget about Lily's fiancé."

"Hm…I wonder what he's like," Remus wondered.

Alice laughed lightly. "Don't worry, Remus. Let's just say he's not the most fascinating man in the world-"

Sirius snorted, interrupting her, "Yeah right, he's downright boring!"

"He is very loyal though, very smart, and he's rather rich too. You'll have to give him that much credit."

At that moment the blonde waitress came back. "Here are your orders! Enjoy your lunch, and please don't hesitate to call for me if you need anything."

Arabella used her fork to cut a piece of the chocolate cake slice and sampled it. "Mmm.. this is really good. Not really the healthiest lunch, but it's downright delicious."

"You should try their soups too, they're very good," Frank suggested who was the one who found the new café in the first place.

They sat in relative silence for awhile, sampling their orders and giving comments on them.

"But back again with Lily and James, do you suppose we should do anything?" Alice introduced the topic once more.

Remus frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, maybe we should, you know… give a little push here and there," she said nonchalantly, but the mischievous glint in her eyes gave her away.

"Matchmaking, oh how fun!" Arabella said, her eyes alight.

Sirius laughed and smacked his fist down the table, "Now this is more like it! Finally, some action! Whatever you guys do, count me in!"

"I suppose we can't just simply lock them again in a closet like in seventh year, huh?" Frank said jokingly.

"No, that's a little juvenile. We're nineteen now, we can do much better than that!"

Remus shook his head, smiling lightly. "Fine, you can also count me in. Just as long as we don't do anything drastic, okay? We have an engaged woman and a not-so-single celebrity on our hands."

"So what do you suggest, Alice?" Arabella asked, now excited and her half-finished chocolate cake forgotten.

"Well… let's just say that a close associate of mine has been hearing word of an upcoming Ministry ball."

"Aw, Alice! I'm your fiancé and you didn't even tell me about this?" Frank said, hurt.

"Relax, I just heard it from Janet yesterday. I was going to tell you tonight."

"How reliable is the information source?" Remus asked. "You're sure this is not just some made-up rumor?"

"No, I'm pretty sure of it. It's supposed to be sometime in late September."

"That's good, it's not too soon."

Remus was about to say something when another voice behind him interrupted: "Well, I guess I should be happy then that my friends have such interest in my love-life."

The five turned their heads to see a brown-haired young man standing right behind Remus. He was wearing auror robes with quite a number of medals and badges on his chest. Remus narrowed his eyes. Those were the same exact medals and badges James has. "Prongs?" He asked anxiously.

The stranger smiled down at Remus. "Glad that someone recognized me, Moony."

Sirius bursted in with his usual bluntness, "Ah hell, James, what in Merlin did you do to yourself?!"

"No way, is that really you, James?" Frank asked.

"More like what Moody did to me," James said. "And quiet down the entire café can practically hear you." He pulled up a chair from an empty table and sat beside Remus. "Yes, it's me. And don't call me James. In this form my name is supposed to be-" James scrunched his face in distaste "- Samuel Jacobs."

Arabella eyed James from head to toe. He was still handsome. This time, he had brown hair with golden highlights. His eyes were also a warm chocolate brown. The features that stood out the most were his long bangs and the long hair that reached the top of his shoulders, held by a black leather string.

"So I presume that this is Moody's solution to the constant media mobs, huh?" Remus asked.

James nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually kind of thankful though. At least now I don't have to keep running all the time."

"Well alright then," Sirius said happily, putting an arm around James's shoulder. "So, _Samuel_, I guess you've been eavesdropping on our conversation then?"

"Yeah…" James began, starting to get irritated. "So…do you guys always talk about me and Lily behind my back like this?"

Without hesitation the entire group replied, "Yes," in unison. James grumbled under his breath.

"But then again," Arabella said happily, "now that we've admitted that we do, we're no longer talking behind your back now, are we?"

"Good point," James replied sarcastically.

"Aw, admit it, James, you definitely could use the help. There's no denying that you want Lily back as much as she wants you," Frank said.

James blushed. "_Am I really that obvious?_" "Fine, fine. A Ministry ball, eh?" He asked, his eyes sparkling. "That sounds interesting…"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
_Guest Bedrooms Group #8, Lily Evans's Bedroom, 11:00 P.M.: _

"Goodnight, Megan!" Lily called out her bedroom door before closing it. A yawn immediately made its away out her mouth. Lily stretched her arms over her head as she made her way up to her mirror. She looked terrible. Her hair was slowly making its way out her messy bun and her MediWitch robes were dirty.

"My goodness," Lily whispered to herself. Her muscles were sore from the day's work. "Hm, nothing that a nice hot bath won't fix." Lily turned to her bedside table where the letters from the past afternoon were placed. She didn't even have the time to look through them yet since her lunchtime was already up. "In the meantime I can read these in the bath."

With that, she dressed out of her clothes and stepped into her mint-green silk robes. After having the bath ready, Lily slipped out of her robe and stepped in slowly, instantly feeling the tensions in her muscles loosen. She grabbed the first letter on the pile and opened it, careful to make sure that she didn't get it wet. It was from Sarah:

_Dear Lily,  
__ How are you doing? I bet you forgot about me already, didn't you? Well the past few weeks have been terribly hectic and lonesome without you. Mr. Abeforth Sr. seems to be handling the transition well. I think he's making a good recovery from the past operation, he's definitely improving. He always asks Ethan about you whenever he visits, though. Such a nice, sweet old man he is.  
__ So how's everyone else doing? I'm very happy for Alice and Frank, I always knew that they'd be together! They were definitely made for each other, I'm sure. I wonder when's the wedding. Oh, that reminds me! Why not make it a double wedding between you, Ethan and them? It's just a suggestion. I can't wait. I'll be a bridesmaid in two weddings, can you imagine that? And I'm pretty sure that Arabella and Sirius will also plan to have one soon enough. I bet it's only a matter of time before Sirius pops the question.  
__ Speaking of couples, I'm sure you've heard of James and Ameile. Can you imagine that? It's all over the papers, the radio, everywhere! I have to admit, I always thought that it would be you and James together, but I suppose that life's like that, isn't it? You get some surprises here and there…  
__Well I'm currently running out of time, not to mention that my wrist is starting to get a cramp, so I guess that I'll have to end this letter here. I know that you're terribly busy, Lily, but please do try to keep in touch, okay? I miss you terribly, and Mr. Aberforth misses you too. _

_Love,  
__Sarah_

Lily sighed after finishing the letter. "Oh Sarah," she whispered sympathetically. She did miss her friend and St. Mungo's, but the Wing needed her more now. She scanned the letter again and frowned, "'I always thought that it would be you and James together' hmph. Honestly, the world and its assumptions. James and I are close friends, we can never be more than that." Lily placed the letter down and slid further down the water, letting her mind wander. Eventually her gaze turned back to the pile of letters. There were two left. Sitting up higher, Lily wiped her hands on a washcloth before looking at the second letter. Picking it up, she recognized the messy scribble of "Lily Evans" written in front. She knew James's handwriting anywhere. Opening the letter she began to read it, a smile lighting up her face.

_Lils,  
__ Remember? I did tell you that I was going to write to you. So how's everything been going, huh? Sorry about dragging you into the closet by the way… Sirius has been talking nonstop to Remus about it. Don't worry, I did make sure to tell Sirius that nothing of that sort of nature happened. Right now I'm in a hotel, can't tell you where though in case this letter gets intercepted, although I highly doubt that it will. I have a special concealing charm on it, you see.  
__ But enough about that, I just wanted to tell you that I still care about you, Lils. What I said back in the closet (I know it wasn't the best place to talk, but hey you had it coming) was nothing but the truth, despite what the media says. Yes, I know that you know, Lily. __Admit it, you've seen the story everywhere. "James Potter and Ameile Collins, the New Couple." Believe me when I say this, fame sucks. I have to be truthful when I say this also, I want to break up with Ameile. I never had any romantic feelings for her in the first place; I only care for her like the sister I never had. So yes, Lils, I'm still after you. Don't think that you can easily escape from me. I'm not the ringleader of the Marauders for nothing.  
__I'm gonna end this now, Lils. I bet you're reading this at night, huh? That was always a habit of yours. So sweet dreams, Lils, dream of me if you want, just not those kind of dreams. I'm joking, okay?! _

_Love from the ever-stubborn and persistent one and only,  
__James _

"James, James, James," Lily said, laughing. "He still has that bit of arrogance and all of his old confidence in him." Feeling much better now, Lily decided to finally get out of the bath lest her skin turns into a prune. She wrapped a towel around herself and picked up the letters, and sat down the edge of her bed. She had to admit though, she felt slightly sorry for Ameile. She seemed to be very much in love with James. Lily looked down at her toes, "_I just hope James knows what he's doing_." Deciding not to think too much about the matter she looked back at the pile of letters.

"Just one more letter to go," she said, as she picked up the last letter. It felt rather heavy for just the thin-looking piece of parchment paper it was. Opening the black seal, Lily gasped as she saw a wave of yellow powder explode into her face. Lily instantly closed her eyes and dropped the letter, instantly feeling the powder's acidic properties burning into her skin. She quickly rushed into the bathroom to wash her face and her arms which had the most contact from the powder. After a couple of minutes of vigorous washing, she looked up into the mirror to find that the skin affected was inflicted with mild-degree burns.

"What the hell?" Lily gasped leaning closer to the mirror to peer at her reflection. She tentatively touched a part of her neck that had been burned and winced in pain at the intense stinging sensation that followed.

Lily glanced back at the foot of her bed, where she had dropped the letter. Cautiously she stepped up to it. There was no trace of the yellow powder anywhere. Lily instantly felt a chill run down her spine and swallowed down the bile that was rising up her throat. On the letter written in what Lily suspected was blood were the words:

****

****

**You're next, Mudblood. **

-------------------------------o

And the plot just thickened. What a big mess I've made…and to think that _I _am the one who'll have to untangle all the characters from this mess…well that is, the characters that will survive. Oh I'm just evil aren't I?

This definitely has been the longest chapter ever. 14 pages on Microsoft Word, not counting the author's notes. It took me a lot of time to type this chapter; I was trying to plan everything to the utmost perfection I can achieve. It's because this chapter is one of the most important. It's not exactly the turning point of the story, but this is where everything gets darker… Yup. I have some things in store for our beloved friends. I feel so bad for shoving them into all of this mess. Terrible, terrible war.

On a happier note, yes, there's the upcoming Ministry ball I promised to you all! No Lily and James fic will be complete without a ball, so why not I uphold the tradition? And yes, I finally managed to bring Remus and Arabella into the story! Yes, he will get a woman. Every charming man, werewolf or not, deserves a sweet young woman to care for him. Just who will it be? Well you guys can take your guesses, but I already have the person in mind. I think it's pretty obvious who it's going to be. Now I just have to get Peter into the picture… Oh yeah, before I forget, what do you guys think of Samuel Jacobs? Don't ask me where I got the name from, it just popped into my head =P

On an even happier (for me) note, I already have the pictures posted online. You can find the url's by scrolling down my bio. The url's will stand out easily, so you guys shouldn't have trouble. I would really love it if you can comment on them. One of my reviewers (**Loves to Read) **already reviewed them. Also, I'm planning on making my own website. Hurrah for me. My website will be dedicated to the (few) fanarts I have and my (again, few) fanfiction. I'm also planning on posting my favorite fanfiction there. Don't rush me though, this site is going to take some time if I actually manage to go through it.

One more thing that's not so important. I've been doing some more math again to try and figure out how fast I have to make this story go… and if you want to be exact, Harry was conceived on Halloween 1979 –snorts- Now how funny is that? That is of course presuming that Harry was conceived exactly nine months before July 31. As Sirius will say in this situation, "I guess Lily and James had too much mischief that night." =P

-------------------------------o

So sorry for this _very long_ author's note, but I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, and supported me. So much love to all of you guys. So without further ado [and forgive me if I miss anyone, I did my best to be thorough]:

**16 Glomps and Love to the following people who put me on their favorite authors list: **Tiger Lily21; A-northern-girl; cxigner; Taari Loome; Adrianna Trianna; Lily-Potter8; Latina1; Skye133; Ruth3; GinnylovesHarry; SexySlytherinChick; dragonhp1116; LexiLou; btzfungurl09; Lazi Bunni; Dangerous Perfection; toriisen; FallenFlower; FrEgOrGeLuVeR225; restless0soul; VaNiLLacHai 501; Andromeda Tonks; Lilykins; lingyeung-02; Florence Stylsen; La Dee Da; cHeeZeCak3; Daveigh; jasmine; Muses' Advocate; flying-piggy-123; ice-princess2515; i-luv-ron-008; tootrickyforyou; arwenundomneil; MissBlueAngel; crazy4padfoot; fate's fallen angel; Celestial Night; animalluvr75; Lilyangel04; Skittles in Aqua; gryffspopgurl; cilverblood; buggy-such

**16 Glomps to the following people who put my story on their favorite stories list (it took me quite a while to come up with this list too): **Dangerous Perfection; tiggerbaby2430; Tiger Lily21; tRuE2U; ThreeEaredBunny; princess emily; toriisen; munkylover256; Hp-Azn; FallenFlower; cxigner; Padfoot103; Elspeth Renee; FrEgOrGeLuVeR225; cHiniTaGrL; gryffspopgurl; S.BR.LJ.P; nightxXxshade; AndromedaTonks; child-of-scorpo; crogirli; BlackSlytherinGirl; Lilykins; Lilyangel04; allie kat5; watervolleyhp; cHeeZeCak3; dancinguyn; jasmine; AngelsChains124; flying-piggy-123; Muses' Advocate; Kristinerz77; Revi; Chavela-Chica; ice-princess-2515; clyana; browneyedgirl2004; Celestial Night; skye133; MilesFromNormal; arwenundomneil; crazy4padfoot; pale pink roses; Puppet Heart; EvilAngel995; Lintucuiel; fate's fallen angel; tootrickyforyou; Daveigh; Ruth3; Eldarwen Ancalime; btzfungrl09; Skittles in Aqua; californiagurl; DancingEvy1; AnG3L1c diVa-chan; cilverblood; Brilliant, just brilliant; moviechicka; Jessie Luna; LilyEvansPotter16; Sweetaccent; sissy-6; Lilyangel04; DaRrelLsGuRl; Dangerously Non-Existent

**And yes, I'm also thanking the people who put me on their author's alert list: **Tiger Lily21; A-northern-girl; cxigner; GinnylovesHarry; SexySlytherinChick; dragonhp1116; LexiLou; Lazi Bunni; toriisen; FallenFlower; FrEgOrGeLuVeR225; AndromedaTonks; Daveigh; ice-princess-2515; Taari Loome; Danski; Aiyanna Lupin; Taari; jess70; independen-and-happy1373; watervolleyhp; blackdragonofdeath13; xoOBlackDragonOox; May May15; tRuE2U; Lily Natalia Evans; Tuliptucker; Hazel-lp9; allie kat 5; Princess Pixie Ice; chewy1; mandyzcool; xan3; lilynjamesAAF; honey8786; child-of-scorpio; angelzsweet90; moviechicka; MadEyeJr; MarryMeJames; slate07; Six83; Brilliant, just brilliant; cHeeZeCak3; Theresa Black; James and Lily 4eva; dancinguyn; SaMBraT; KristiexxNguyen; jasmine; Muses' Advocate; Kristinerz77; WotcherTonks; i-h8-sclub; clyana; skye133; DaRkDrEaMzzz; crazy4padfoot; pale pink roses; slippersRfuzzy; Jessie Luna; fate's fallen angel; tootrickyforyou; LilyEvansPotter16; Ruth3; Choo Choo Train; water-phoenix5; btzfungrl09; CanadianBlueberries; Sweetaccent; evilvampisme; sissy-6; Catherine-Anna; Lilyangel04; Loves to Read; AnG3L1c diVa-chan; DaRrelLsGuRl; Dangerously Non-Existent; cilverblood; Chrono-Maku; SouthernGirl5178

-------------------------------o

**Now onwards to my individual responses (oh my poor aching wrists): **

**Jasminee: **Hey again Jas. Thanks a lot, lol =) So sorry I haven't kept in touch much, but hey here's chapter 8, hope I didn't disappoint ya. S

**Miles From Normal: **Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, Sirius is awesome, he provides much- needed comic relief in my story. Yes, he is such a smart ass, I don't think anything will ever let Sirius down =D Not counting Lily and James's death… =(

**Me:** Nah, kidding or not kidding I know how horribly slow I update. This chapter was such a pain in the butt; I wasn't too satisfied with it because it didn't seem to contain enough action. But then I thought about it for a while and I decided to just put this up anyway… there'll be more action (both romance and fighting) in the future chapters.

**Californiagurl: **Yeah, and the tangled web just gets messier. It sucks how life isn't all that simple, ne? Sometimes I wish I was a kid again…

**Animalluvr75: **Eheh, not too soon but oh well (I seem to be saying that in almost every single chapter, huh? -- )

**Fate's fallen angel: **Wow, thanks so so so so much! Lol, yea individual responses take quite some time but I always want to respond back to people! I was actually very much tempted to write just one line for a whole group of people (since I already spent so much time typing up the above section) but eh, it's all good. I know, it sucks when you fall in love with fictional characters, ne? So sad… why can't anyone in real life be as good as them? My two favorite guys are Inuyasha (you've heard of him?) and of course James. But I'm actually nice, I'm willing to give up James to Lily ; )

**FallenFlower: **Yeah, and at least now in this chapter we find out that (gasp) James is finally going to break up with Ameile! I hope he holds on to his nerve though and not back out in the last minute… I wonder how he's going to break up with her… damn, I have to figure this one out… (goes off to brainstorm)

**Cherry: **Yes! A fellow anime-appreciator/fan/whatever you wish to call yourself. xD So far I can do some _very_ simple conversation and can count up to 20. Eh, it's a start. And I already posted up the url's for my pictures, I hope I'm as good of a drawer as you think I am. (sweatdrop) I tend to stray away from coloring the pictures on photoshop cuz it takes up too much time for me… I have a very small amount of patience, you see. So yeah, I hope you can give me some comments. =)

**JJ: **Yeah, you do have a very good point =) As I said before, this chapter especially took me a long time to write. I hope this one was good, it didn't have too much romance in it; I think it went more towards the adventure part. But once September rolls along, I can finally plan that upcoming ball (grins widely). I'll have to make sure to stuff some extra fluff in there to make up for it.

**James and Lily 4eva: **Oops, sorry about that, but neither Ethan nor Ameile were present to see that. I decided to let our poor lovers get a break from all their embarrassment. After all, James already has enough trouble with the media as is, the poor guy.

**Tiger Lily21: **Of course I'll write everything within reason (smirks mischievously) but of course I shall also have fun in the process. I do promise to make the Ministry Ball as enchanting and fluff-filled as I can. I think Lily and James deserves at least that for all the torture I'm going to put them through =

**Luthien RhiannonCat5: **Hahahaha, well I hope I made you guys proud enough. I don't have any siblings though, at least I have that much. I always wondered what it's like to have siblings. But alas, this computer is more or less mine =D Time management sucks, I'll tell you that much. And to think, I'll have even more things to juggle around once school comes around the corner (groans).

**Browneyedgirl2004: **I love long reviews though, so no problems there! Thanks very much for your compliment, it really perks me up, you know? I do feel sorry for Lils! To think that she could've been together with the love-of-her-life only to make the mistake of getting engaged before meeting him again. (sigh) So so sad. But this gives us all the more reason to pitch in together and help Alice, Frank, Remus, Megan, Sirius, and Arabella to bring them together again! Face it, if we didn't help will Lily and James ever get together? Lol

**Misakichi1: **Aww! I'm short too, so I feel your pain. =( Can you imagine some of my guy friends call me 'midget'? xD I just laugh along with them though… (sigh) but if you want to be optimistic, it's better for us girls to be too short than to be too tall, ne? Thanks for your review!

**Princess Pixie Ice: **Thanks so much! Hmm… as for you and Sirius (checks her planner to see when he's free) let's see, so far I have him scheduled for a dress rehearsal from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow…. But he's free from 2 to 5. So if you want, I can somehow "accidentally" shove him into this janitor closet right next to his dressing room while you wait for him inside. Not the most romantic, but it's the best I can do for now! Now I just have to try and get Arabella out of the way…

**Lissy: **Thank you very much! I hope you like this chapter too!

**DancinEvy1: **Oops, sorry about that. I never knew that it had to be on a certain hand (feels stupid and ignorant now) darn… and to think I drew a picture of them in the glade scene where she's showing it with her right hand too… =( Thanks for pointing that out by the way! I'll try to edit that (makes a note of it).

**Gryffspopgurl: **Thanks so much for the review, gryffspop! It really really made my day a whole lot brighter (which is saying something since it's dark and gloomy where I am right now) LoL. I guess I'm just too paranoid. I gotta make the Ministry ball overflowing with fluff… well at least compared to other chapters =D Hoping to get in touch with you again soon!

**Dee: **Yes! A near-confession! Key word being "near" (sigh) Can't they just somehow get their act together?! Oh wait, but it's me who's making them this way… lol, forget about that then. They'll _eventually_ get their act together. Alice, Frank, Remus, Megan, Sirius, and Arabella will make sure of that ; )

**Crazy4padfoot: **LoL, thanks lots fellow Sirius-lover! Well, we get more of Sirius's smart-aleck comments here =D And yay! Remus and Arabella finally jumped into the story (you don't know how much they've been buggin me to include them). Well, I hope to hear from ya again!

**Lily Natalia Evans: **Yes, eventually Lily _will_ give in… when? Oh, I bet it's only a matter of time. After all, it's very hard to run away from true love (cue in sappy romance music). xP

**Oliverwoodschic: **Yes! I love the Harry Potter cast, they're all charming and talented in their own ways. I can't say that I'm too happy about that Cho character though… she definitely didn't fit my expectations for a Cho. But anyways, thanks for your review!

**Amy: **Thanks lots for your review, Amy =D

**Kt: **Yeah, that was a typo (bows head in embarrassment) … I think my head began to wander when I typed that. And, the irony, the real Sarah made an appearance in this chapter, too. Remember the girl in St. Mungo's? Yup, that's her. You can quickly scroll through chapter two and you'll see her =) She will be playing a slightly bigger roll later in the story, so let's not forget her too fast (that's why I had her write a letter to Lily to remind my readers about her).

**Eldarwen Ancalime: **Lol, so sorry, but I guess I'm just not that fast when it comes to updating =( But hey, this chapter was extra extra long. Lily and James will get together soon, relatively soon. As I said to another reviewer, Lily cannot run away from true love that easily. Thank god James is such a stubborn fool when it comes to her. If it had been any other guy I'm sure they'd have long given up xD

**Chavela-Chica: **Yes, Sirius was much better, ne? At least he had the "decency" to leave Lily and James to their business shortly after he interrupted them. (Smiles) Sirius is just sweet that way, lol.

**Lilyangel04: **It's all good. I know how frustrating things can be with incompetent computers (pats computer)… the poor things… they do need a break every now and then. Thanks lots for your compliment, I'm glad you love my story =)

**Mandyzcool: **Thanks lots! The chapters just keep on coming and coming (despite the slow updates =P )

**Skittles in Aqua: **Alrightie, I just reviewed again. Sorry that I'm not able to keep tabs since I don't get to access my account so often… =( I think skittles in aqua would be a good idea, I wonder what sort of flavor they'll give it though?

**EvilAngel995: **Thanks lots, the closet scene is one of my favorites, along with the glade scene. (sigh) So many "-- scenes" I wonder what the next one will be…

**Vamperfly: **Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Although I gotta admit, my little firewall is protecting my computer quite well (whispers) my computer should've started getting major viruses by now, but so far so good =D My firewall sends its deepest apologies for sometimes being overprotective but he told me that what needs to be done must be done. =P

**Patti: **Hm… James save Lily… he's going to do something a little bit like that, but you're right: something comes up, James does something to help, and this is what makes Lily realize "oh to hell with all my insecurities, I'm finally going to hook up with James."

**Lilykins: **Sirius seems to have the best lines so far, doesn't he? But finally, Remus steps into the picture! Along with Arabella! As a side story, we have to help out poor, lonely Remus and finally give him the woman he deserves ; )

**Kristinerz77: **Thanks lots, Kristin! I'm so happy when I get reviews like yours =) It makes me really happy to know that people like my story. Hoping to hear more from ya!

**Clyana: **Yeah, it is annoying when people are like that. James is definitely stubborn when it comes to Lily. He'll do anything and everything it takes to finally get with her. Such devotion. (sighs wistfully)

**Celestial Night: **Oh yeah, been busy too myself, thus another reason why this chapter took a while. Thanks lots for all your reviews! See you September 2nd. Dun dun duuuuun we're going back to school, nooooooooooooooooo!!!! =(

**Loves to Read: **You know what, you're the only one who commented on the initials scratched into the rock, lol. Thanks lots, it was a cute little idea of mine. And yay! You're the first one to comment on my pictures, thanks-oh-so-much for your comment! I'm glad you like the uniforms, it took me some time to finally get them perfect. I'll try to post up more pictures that I made/will make from this fic! I'm very happy that you love my story! A big old-fashioned glomp to you!

**Adreena: **Thanks lots for your review, Adreena! I hope you like this chapter too!

**Arwenundomneil: **Yes! Suspense, you can't get enough of it! Well, for me at least, but I'm sure that for readers like you it's another thing. Lol. Everything just keeps getting more and more messed up in my fic… oh dear… =T

**Singer: **Yes, the descriptive parts tend to be the romantic ones (sigh) Poor Lily indeed. I sometimes feel more sorry for James, he's the one who keeps chasing after her. That guy never tires, does he? And yes, diary entries are cute =) They provide a little break from my boring narrations.

**AnG3L1c diVa-chan: **Oooh, are you a fellow anime-lover? Just assumed it because of the "-chan" part =) Thanks so much for adding me to your favorites! (glomps you)

**Jen: **Aww, thanks lots! I'm happy that you like the way I write Lily and James. I try to make it more realistic, and since this is taking place in the middle of a war, drama is definitely a must. I'm also happy that reading my fic makes you happy! Thanks for your review.

**Cilverblood: **Thanks for the review! I have to admit, I didn't like Oopt too much… it definitely didn't meet my expectations… but then again, I'm very picky sometimes =P

**Chrono-Maku: **Thanks so much! A lot of my readers really love Sirius, but hey who can't love him? He's such a sweet, funny guy. Now how about Remus, I have to give him his share of the fun too. So, I decided to give him what he needs the most, a woman (cue in the "aww's") Yup, Remus shall have a girlfriend!

**Dimpi: **LoL, thanks lots! =D I'm glad you liked the chapter!

**Ruth3: **It's okay, lol. James's promise to Lily was to stay safe. He swore a Marauder's oath on it, so James is pretty serious in keeping that promise. Isn't that sweet… let's just hope that James will be able to keep it as the war grows ever so more violent =O And nooo! Please don't send a howler at me! (tries to think of a good excuse) If you do, it will damage my computer, and I can no longer type my chapters here! Yeah, that's it! So don't send any howlers please! (computer cowers in fear).

**Puppet Heart: **LoL, I know what you mean about the drawing. I, too, don't have the patience sometimes to produce a decent artwork. As I said before, you can check out the pictures through the Url's I pasted in my bio. Do give me a comment, I'd love to hear from you guys about my art =)

**SilentRain22: **Thanks so much for your review! I'm happy that you like the characters, I love writing them =) And they told me to tell you that they love reviewers like you who compliment them! =D

**---------------------------------------o**

****

****

****

****

**"Can't –pant- go on –pant- much longer" –Miaka collapses from exhaustion-**

**-Sirius can be seen in the background entering the room and spots the author- "Oh shit, er.. James! I think our author's out cold." **

**-James also enters the room and sees Miaka- "What should we do?" **

**"Well I think for starters we should save the document onto a disk and run down to the library. That's where she always updates her fic." **

**"Ah, okay then. We can't just leave her here though." **

**-Sirius shrugs and tosses Miaka like a sack of potatoes onto his shoulder before dropping her unceremoniously on her bed- "There, is that good?" **

**"Yeah, and here I got the document saved." **

**-And thus Sirius and James save the day by going off to the library and updating the fic- **


	10. The Unwelcome Babysitter

**Romance in the Hospital Wing **

**By Wo Ai Ni16**

**Chapter 9: The Unwelcome Babysitter**

* * *

_Friday, Third Week of August; __9:00 A.M._

Lily woke up to the noisy twittering of birds perched on the windowsill. She yawned and slowly sat up, stretching her arms above her head. She didn't even move much before she felt a sharp, stinging sensation around her neck. "Ow…what the…?" Opening her eyes slowly last night's events quickly came back to her. Turning her head stiffly down to her left there it was, the cursed letter was there on the floor. It would have looked completely innocent if it weren't for its threatening message and the gleaming blood it was written in.

Groaning in pain, she slowly walked up to her bedroom mirror, afraid of what she would see. The skin of her face and neck were slightly red, looking like minor sunburns. Lily sighed in relief and combed a hand through her hair. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Waving a concealing charm over the affected areas she sat down on her bed, thinking about what she should do with the threat. As much as the more logical part of her brain insists that she should report this to the authorities, another part of her wanted to keep the problem to herself. She knew that the first few people who'd learn of Voldemort's threat will be Alice, James, Sirius, and the rest of her friends at the Auror Headquarters. If _they_ were to put themselves in danger for _her_ sake and something happened…Lily knew she just couldn't handle that. On the other hand, Lily also knew that she had to confide in one person about this, so in case anything goes wrong…but who?

"Megan," she muttered under her breath.

After putting on her MediWitch robes and double-checking that no trace of her burns could be seen, Lily proceeded to walk down towards the Great Hall for breakfast, threat letter hidden in her pockets.

Megan and a couple of other MediWitches already began eating. Waving at her friend, Lily walked over and sat down beside her, making sure that they were isolated enough for the conversation not to be overheard. Giving Megan a strained smile, she decided to wait until the end of the meal to talk to her. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

Her friend seemed to be in a fairly cheerful mood, as she talked about various stories about her family and her plans to take a day off to spend time with her younger sister. She was currently going into her fifth year in Hogwarts, and it had been months since she had last seen her. Lily smiled and listened to Megan, grateful for something that took her mind off from her current problems. But as the food in her plate slowly disappeared, Lily decided that it was time to face it and tell Megan about Voldemort's threat.

"What is it, Lily?" It seemed that Megan already sensed that something was going on in Lily's head.

Lily took a deep breath and looked squarely at Megan's eyes. "First of all, can I have your word that whatever happens, whatever I'm about to tell you, that you'll keep it a secret?"

Megan almost looked like she was going to say yes, but hesitated. "Frankly, it all depends, Lily…"

"Please," her tone was pleading, "you're the only person I could trust this information to. I mean, I know that we have only known each other for a short time, but I beg you, Megan, just promise me you'll keep this a secret."

Feeling too sympathetic to give her any other answer, "Alright. So what's going on?"

Lily reached into her left pocket and took out the letter. Looking it over warily she said, "I received a…very interesting letter last night, to say the least." She handed it over to Megan who took it and gasped as she opened the letter. Quickly reading over the short, blunt message, she handed it back to Lily as if it were a curse.

"Lily, I really don't think—"

"You promised, Megan."

"But, Lily! This is not something to keep to yourself, or to me for that matter." She grabbed the letter from Lily's hands and waved it in front of her face. "This is not to be taken lightly, Lily! You-Know-Who's very serious when he sends these things; my own neighbor received a death threat two months ago and died a week later." Now looking teary-eyed, she grabbed Lily's shoulders. "Don't do this, Lily! You should report this immediately! Please—"

"I can't! As much as I want to, Megan, I can't! If I did that then Alice, James, Sirius, and all my other friends will find out and try to do something. And I can't let something happen to them just because of me!"

Megan bit her lip and glanced down at the letter. She understood what Lily meant. If she were her situation, she would likely do the same. But still…to just pass this off as if it never happened?

"Okay, I understand, Lily. But surely you know that doing nothing is not an option."

Lily bowed her head. She felt as if the whole world was placed on her shoulders. She agreed with Megan, but what should she do? She needed another person she could trust, and someone who was so weak that she could easily bully him or her into keeping it a secret.

"Ethan." For once, she was ecstatic that she was engaged to him. Yes, he was perfect. It wouldn't take too much pushing and shoving until he will swear that he'd keep his mouth shut. And if he knows, then surely he must be able to think of something they can do in the meantime…

* * *

_Unnamed hotel, __12:00 P.M._

"Argh, stupid sunlight," groaned a groggy voice from the bed. There James lay on his stomach, and yes, in all his shirtless glory, stuffing his head under the pillow to block off the sunlight that was pouring from his window.

Mumbling various curses under his breath, he reluctantly sat up and glared at the window which made things worse since now his eyes were seeing spots from staring at the brightness. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and putting on his glasses, he walked over to his closet and put on his casual robes, yawning all the while. He had slept very late last night, or rather last early morning, since he was busy relishing the newfound freedom he had with his new identity- Samuel Jacobs. Okay, so it wasn't the best name in the world; good ol' Moody probably could've done better, but it was the look that counts, right?

Walking over to the small kitchen to fix himself a quick brunch, he sat down on the kitchen table and looked out at the people walking outside. The atmosphere seemed so much happier since there have been no recent Death Eater attacks. James sighed and half-heartedly took a bite of his sandwich. He knew it was only a matter of time until something bad happens.

And of course, he was also planning to break up with Ameile. Now which line should he use… "It's not you it's me." "I think we should see other people." "We were not meant for each other in the first place." "This relationship isn't working out." "I'm sorry but I'm still in love with my former girlfriend and I was just selfishly using you to replace her." Nah, none of those would work. James couldn't help but feel like a jerk for stringing Ameile along all this time. But then again, he was never planning to meet Lily and have another chance at their relationship either. A good old fashioned, "Ameile, we need to talk…" should settle things out. She'd probably curse and jinx him, yes, but at least he can freely pursue Lily afterwards.

Glancing at the clock to look at the time he wolfed down the rest of the sandwich and put on a light outer robe and head out for the door. Just as he was about to reach for it, the doorknob turned and opened to reveal a slightly irritated Ameile.

"James! I've been trying to contact you all throughout yesterday. Where were you?"

"Um… I was somewhere?"

Looking at him in exasperation she decided to question no further and grabbed his hand. "Come on! You're taking me out on a date; we haven't been able to spend time together anymore."

James withdrew his hand and hesitantly took a step back. "Uh, about that, Ameile…"

His girlfriend looked at him impatiently, "What is it, James?"

He gulped and wanted to break it off then, but no words came out. As much as he wanted to break it off, he didn't want to hurt Ameile. There must be a gentler way to break up. He shook his head and took her hand in his, "Okay, where to?"

* * *

_Department of Mysteries: Ethan Aberforth's Office; __12:00 P.M._

Ethan was busy piling through a stack of documents when a knock sounded at the door. Poking his head through the wall of papers he called, "Come in!"

A smile lit up his face as he watched his fiancée walk through the door. Closing it behind her carefully she walked over to Ethan who hugged her tightly. "Lily! What a surprise, I was just planning to visit you tonight."

He held her at arm's length to look her over. Noting her slightly disheveled and ruffled appearance he asked, "How have things been going back at the Wing?"

Lily smiled wearily and sat down on a chair next to his desk. Ethan went to a table to prepare some tea for her and sat down on an opposite chair.

Taking a sip of the tea to delay her response Lily finally spoke, "Things have slowed down quite a bit since there haven't been any new attacks lately."

"That's good," Ethan nodded as he took a sip of his tea. "Well things have always been slow here, as usual. I was just working on a new case before you came in." He motioned to the pile of papers stacked haphazardly on top of his desk.

Lily set down her tea cup and said, "Ethan, there's something I have to talk to you about."

His eyebrows shot up his forehead as he noted the sudden change in her tone. "Alright, Lily, what is it?" And he thought that this would just be a cordial visit.

Lily reached into her outer robe's pockets and retrieved the letter for the second time that day. She looked at it in her hands and Ethan tried to look at its contents from where he sat. "First of all, before I show this to you, I want you to promise me that you'll keep this a secret between us. Megan is the only other person who knows."

"Megan?"

"Yes, the other MediWitch I work with," she looked up at him. "So do I have your word or not?"

Ethan smiled despite the palpable tension in the atmosphere. "You know you could always trust me, Lily."

Lily smiled back at him, grateful for his absolute faith in her. "I got this letter last night." She reached over to hand it to him.

Ethan's expression was very similar to Megan as he quickly read its contents until he narrowed his eyes and looked up at Lily. "Surely, you know that we can't just keep this to ourselves?"

Lily sighed and sat back on her chair. "That's what Megan said and that's why I decided to open this up to you. Can you think of anyway for us to anonymously file a case? I don't want Alice or any of my other Auror friends to get wind of this."

Ethan scrunched his eyebrows in thought and stood up to walk over to his desk. He began to rearrange the stack of papers as he looked up again at Lily. "There is a way, actually. I'm sure I have some connections that will be willing to take over this case."

"That's good then," she stood up too and walked over to him. "And how about my family? Can I get someone to post up protection wards around their house?"

"I'm sure we'll have that taken care of." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's you that I'm more worried about, Lily. You're the one who is being threatened after all."

She shrugged her shoulders out of his reach and took a step back. "I can handle this. It was only a matter of time, anyway, since I'm a muggleborn and all."

Ethan shook his head and persisted. "No, Lily, I can't do that. I'm going to go over at the Auror Headquarters right now and get someone to guard you."

Lily looked dumbfounded and took another step back. "Ethan, honestly, I don't need anyone to _babysit_ me—"

Despite the situation, Ethan laughed, "No one's going to babysit you, Lily. They're going to find someone to protect you."

Lily crossed her arms and stuck her chin in the air. "That still sounds like babysitting to me."

He chuckled and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll go over to the Headquarters right now. You'll be fine going back to Hogwarts by yourself, won't you?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "I'm not a child you know."

* * *

_Angela's Boutique; __1:00 P.M._

James tried to look interested as he waited outside the dressing room in one of London's clothing stores. This had to be at least the thirtieth outfit Ameile's tried on today. His girlfriend fancied muggle clothes and always liked to shop in London when she had the chance. He simply had the misfortune to be dragged along with her.

A rustle of clothing signaled her appearance from the dressing room. Smiling, Ameile twirled slowly, modeling the shimmering black dress in front of him. "Well, James, what do you think?"

James put on his best fake smile and nodded enthusiastically. "It looks great, Ameile! So, how about we buy that dress so we can get out of here?" Okay, so that last part should have been omitted, but he can only keep up this façade for so long. It wasn't like Ameile wasn't attractive, quite the opposite really, but he had better things to do…like pay Lily a visit for instance.

Luckily, Ameile wasn't really paying attention to him as she studied herself in a nearby mirror, "I don't know… don't you think this dress makes my legs look lanky? There was this other navy blue dress I wanted to try on…"

James cursed under his breath and refrained from rolling his eyes as he continued to try and keep the fake smile on his face. It was becoming more difficult with every passing minute. "It looks great on you, Ameile."

She turned around and looked at him speculatively. "You really think so?"

_To be honest, I can hardly care right now…_ "Yes, Ameile. Now change out of that so I that I can go pay for it."

A bright smile lit up her face as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, James, you're the best."

James hid his grimace as he hesitantly hugged her back. _If only you knew how much you're going to hate me after I break up with you._ Ouch. Nothing but an additional drop of guilt to liven up his day.

After changing out of the clothes and making his purchase, the couple went outside the London streets.

"Oh no, James?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind if we go back to the Headquarters? I think forgot one of the files I need for my next mission."

"Alright then, it won't take much of our time since it's near anyway." Instantly, James felt his mood brighten. This was the perfect situation! James could see it all in his imagination's eye: while unsuspecting Ameile goes to the file room to retrieve her documents, he can sneakily move out of the way and make his exit. From there, he can transform into Samuel and ta-da! Sweet freedom, here he comes. Pushing down the imaginary angel beside his shoulder that insisted that he shouldn't desert Ameile that way, a mischievous smile lit up his face as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Well then, Ameile-dear, lead the way."

* * *

_Hogwarts__Hospital__ Wing; __2:00 P.M._

Lily walked towards the lounge, where she believed Megan to be, a small smile on her face. She felt considerably happier and the weight that had previously been crushing her shoulders was lifted. As much as she hated the thought that a stupid bodyguard would be trailing around her like a shadow, the thought of someone offering her protection made her feel much more secure. She was surprised that Ethan insisted on the idea, before she thought it would be easy to make him do what _she_ wanted. It was nice to see that her fiancé can have a backbone sometimes.

As she expected, Megan was at the plush sofa, taking a sip of tea.

Upon seeing her friend, Megan smiled and patted the space next to her. "Well, Lily, how did it go?"

Lily smiled and propped her head on one arm. "Well, he decided to bring the case over to one of his friends at work. He promised me that no one else would get word of it. But" at this Lily sighed, "he said that he's going to get me a _babysitter_."

Megan almost spat out her tea but took a quick swallow before laughing, forgetting her manners. "W-what? A babysitter, you said?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, Ethan called it a bodyguard, but honestly, babysitter is more like it. It's very degrading having someone follow me around like a little girl, you know."

Megan regained control of her breathing and patted her friend on the back. "A bodyguard makes more sense. For a second there, I thought you were pulling my legs. So when will you be expecting him?"

Lily's eyebrows shot up. "_Him_? What makes you so sure it's a he?"

Megan giggled and whispered, "Oh come on, Lily, if you have to have someone trail around you all day, the person should at least be a handsome man."

Lily looked scandalized. "Megan! Need I remind you that I'm engaged?" Her expression was ruined however by her laughing.

"Oh well, all the better for _me_ then."

* * *

_Auror Main Headquarters; __2:00 P.M._

A blur of black can be seen stealthily running down the main hallway. Passing through the few people walking around the chamber, it quickly made its way to a corner before it stopped.

James's breathing was labored from running across ten stories. He looked around him briefly; yes, the coast was clear, just a little more and he would be a free man. Feigning nonchalance, the auror made his way to the men's room. Seeing that he was by himself, James looked at himself in the mirror as he muttered the words to perform the transformation. He watched as his hair slowly lengthened and straightened, the color turning lighter as it stopped to reach just above his shoulders.

Taking off and pocketing his glasses, he reached into his other pocket to retrieve a leather strap to tie his hair back.

"Perfect. James, you are a bloody genius."

Walking out the door he turned the corner before he saw a familiar face.

Walking directly across from him in the opposite direction was no more than Lily's fiancé. James frowned. What would a guy from the Department of Mysteries be doing here? It's either that the man was trying to spy on their work or perhaps… what if the man was coming here to see another woman? That would mean that he's cheating on Lily! And if Lily finds out, she would surely break up with him and come running over to James! He sighed. Nah, it was too good to be true.

But still, the little marauder in him couldn't help but be curious. Making his decision, he made his way towards the man, being inconspicuous in his following. _What was the man's name again? _James wondered to himself. _Was it Edmund? No…Edward? _It still didn't sound right. James shrugged to himself. All he knew was that guy was stupid enough to take his Lily away from him, and that was a good enough reason to kill him. But of course he wouldn't do such thing…Lily would never forgive him if he were to do that.

Following the stupid guy as he rounded the corner, James looked around their surroundings. They were heading towards the anonymous cases department. James frowned as he continued walking inconspicuously behind Ethan. Now why would they be here? Only people with death threats come here. Unless… James's eyes widened as he increased his pace.

Ethan opened the door to the department and stepped inside. James followed not a moment later.

He sat down and pretended to wait for an appointment by opening a magazine, acting as if he was reading it. He watched as Ethan approached the main desk from the corner of his eye.

"Hello, sir, how can I help you?" Unlike the rest of James's fellow aurors, the people working under the Anonymous Cases Department received no vacation.

Ethan looked a tad bit nervous as he reached for something in his robes. His hand went back out, revealing an ordinary-looking parchment letter.

James chanced as a glance and frowned as he caught a brief glimpse of the letter. If only he could read its contents. He quickly looked back at his magazine to keep his presence unnoticeable.

"Yes, I was hoping if I could file a case and also be given a bodyguard." He placed the letter on the man's desk and waited as the man's eyebrows shot up.

"A death threat I see…" he said rather calmly. "Was this directed to you, sir? Are you a muggleborn?"

Ethan shifted his weight to his other foot. "Not to me, but to my fiancée actually. She's muggleborn."

James felt a cold shiver go through him as he heard those words. _Lily's being threatened?__ And she didn't tell me? What the hell does she take me for? I'm an auror! _Grumbling under his breath as he tried to wave away the feeling of pained rejection, he concentrated on hearing more of the conversation.

"I see…and she wanted you to file an anonymous case for her, yes?"

"Indeed. And I wanted to ask if I can also have protection wards placed around her family and a personal bodyguard for her."

The man behind the desk nodded and reached under him to open up a lower drawer to take out a pile of papers. "Alright, sir. If you'd just fill out these papers we'll have everything in order. Protection wards shall be placed around her family immediately. As for the bodyguard, I'll have to write some letters to request for one."

_Here's my chance! _James thought as he immediately stood up and walked over to Ethan and the man. "Excuse me sir, but I'm a certified auror, and I'd be more than willing to be the lady's bodyguard."

Ethan looked into his eyes and smiled, looking grateful. The other man slightly frowned and reached out his hand. "Very well, sir, but can I have your license and qualification papers?"

James suppressed a groan. _Damn formalities._ He reached to pull out Samuel's documents and placed it in the man's hand. "Auror, first section-division two. Specializing in field duties with A certification in self-defense and offensive attacks," he said in a military tone as he watched the man read over his documents, nodding his head.

"Alright, you seem qualified enough sir," the man said. Ethan gave him the completed forms. "Thank you, sir. We'll give you or your fiancée word about any further developments."

Ethan smiled at James and shook his hand. "Ethan Aberforth, sir, I can't express enough my gratitude for helping us—"

"Uh, sure," James quickly retrieved his hand. He didn't want to touch Ethan any further or else placing his hands around his neck would be too tempting. "So I suppose I'll start now, right?" He was very eager to get back with Lily. "Where does your fiancée live, sir?"

Ethan scratched the back of his head. "She's currently residing in Hogwarts, as a MediWitch."

James nodded and headed out the door. Ethan followed beside him. "I see, and her name?"

"Lily Evans. Um, about her sir, to be honest she's not too keen about the idea of a personal bodyguard—"

James smirked to himself. _That's my Lils. _"Hm, quite the fiery woman isn't she?"

Ethan looked taken aback by the inappropriate comment. "Er…yes, I suppose you can say that. So I do apologize in advance for any of her rudeness. But deep down really, I'm sure she's more than grateful for—"

"Yeah, I get it," James waved off his apology. "So floo or apparating?"

* * *

_Hogwarts__Hospital__ Wing; __3:30 P.M._

Lily was just washing her hands after taking care of her latest patient when she heard Madam Pomfrey calling her. Quickly drying her hand on a washcloth, she straightened her uniform before making her way to the desk and was surprised to see Ethan with another man. She only got a brief glimpse of the other man before her fiancé enveloped her in a hug.

"Ethan! I wasn't expecting you back so quickly." Her fiancé smiled down at her before stepping to the side and gesturing towards the man who scowled at their display of affection.

"May I introduce Samuel Jacobs. He volunteered to be your personal bodyguard."

Lily eyed the man from head to toe as if inspecting him for any flaws. James shifted his weight from one foot to another nervously. _Dammit__, Lils, quit looking at me like that. _

"I suppose he would do," she said irritably, crossing her arms. She didn't like the idea of a bodyguard at all, especially a male bodyguard. A woman would make her feel more at ease. This guy looked like he came out of a night club. Well at least Megan got her wish.

James smirked his all-too-famous smirk, "Yes, definitely a fiery woman." This got the expected reaction out of Lily, who opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water.

_How, how dare he! He's even worse then James! _She didn't appreciate the way Samuel looked her, so she only did the thing any other indignant girl in her situation would do…

and promptly slapped him in the face.

James massaged his tender cheek. _That is sure to leave a slight bruise in the morning. _He turned nonchalantly to Ethan, as if nothing happened. The poor man looked lost at what to do.

"Don't worry, sir, your fiancée is safe in my care." And with that James turned and head in Lily's direction.

Ethan still stood there, his mouth agape. "What just happened?"

* * *

_Hogwarts__Hospital__ Wing; __6:00 P.M._

Lily sighed for the umpteenth time that day. She could still feel his stare boring at her back. _Honestly, I know that a bodyguard would be a little uncomfortable, but this is just ridiculous! _She placed down the pile of bedsheets with unnecessary vigor as she snapped her neck to look at the said auror who was lounging in a chair, his eyes still boring into her.

"I thought I told you to stop staring at me!"

The man just yawned and propped his head back on his arms. "But, Lils, what if Voldemort just pops out of nowhere and grabs and runs off with you. We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"

Lily felt her insides freeze. "What did you just call me?"

_Shit! _James just noticed his slip-up. He decided faking innocence. "Why, what did I call you?"

"You called me 'Lils,'" she said angrily.

"What's wrong with calling you Lils?" He gulped as she walked over to him and bent over so that she was close to his face.

"Listen, _Samuel_, our relationship is purely business. I go continue my work while you follow me around to 'protect' me. Nothing more, you hear?"

He gulped again. "Yes ma'am." _Damn, but she looks so pretty when she's angry. _

"Good," she smirked and walked back towards the unfinished bedsheets. "I know you expect me to be one of those ditzy damsel-in-distresses who'd no doubt fall at your feet but right now I'm a just an angry redheaded who wants nothing more than to get you out of my sight."

James just smiled and lay back down. _I wouldn't have you any other way, Lils. _

* * *

_Guest Bedrooms Group #8, Lily Evans's Bedroom, __10:00 P.M._

Lily gave a long sigh. She felt so old. "Ugh, I swear, I'm so out of shape." She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face before wiping her face on her washcloth. Peering at herself in the mirror she noted her disheveled appearance.

"I can definitely use a vacation." Smoothing out the wrinkles out of her lilac silk gown, she ran a brush over her hair as she walked back towards her bedroom. Turning the corner she suppressed a scream as she saw no other than Samuel laying on his stomach on _her_ bed, smothering his face in _her _pillows.

Needless to say, James was in heaven. Everything Lily was surrounding him. Her scent, her entire essence, he even found a strand of her red hair on her pillow. He sighed and buried his face in her pillow. Why didn't he think of this bodyguard business before? He took another whiff of the scent emanating from her head pillow. Strawberries and vanilla, just like the shampoo she always used back in seventh year. He was about to turn over before—

"How dare you!"

—a hairbrush smacked him painfully on his chest. "Ow! Bloody hell!"

"Bloody hell, indeed! Get the hell out of my bed, you perverted jerk! I should immediately report you back to your superiors; I always knew that you weren't to be trusted! You could rape me for all I know!"

"Ouch, now _that _hurts, Lils. I assure I'm completely harmless."

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that?!"

"But I like calling you 'Lils', Lils." Nevertheless he hopped off the bed. It seemed like the devil just had to chase him out of his heaven.

He laughed and rubbed his hand over Lily's head, giving her a noogie. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Evans."

Lily looked positively livid and slammed the door on his face. "Don't call me that either! It's Lily!"

* * *

-Hides behind James and Sirius- "Um… hi? Let's see… the dog ate my story?"

Sirius: Actually, it's more likely writer's block.

James: -nods- Yeah, you see, she was stupid enough to lose the _entire_ outline of her story, the poor doll.

"Yeah, that too…"

* * *

**Author's note: **

Yeah, I'm not dead, and no, despite popular belief (I think) this story is not being discontinued or anything. School's just been overworking me as usual. Plus, there's the fact that I had another writer's block, I still have some of it, actually, and the fact that I did lose the entire outline for my story. Why? Easy: I was stupid and I wrote it on a _napkin _of all places, and of course, napkins, sooner or later, are bound to disappear.

So yes, here's the next chapter after a god-knows-how-long hiatus. I know this whole bodyguard/babysitter thing is deviating a little from my plot, but I'm going back around it really. After all, what's the point of a straightforward story? It would be too boring and monotonous to make one.

So James is currently enjoying his newfound freedom from celebrity and from Ameile. It's only a matter of time before he breaks up with Ameile, I hope. And as for Lily, well she does hate the idea of a babysitter but who knows when she'll start warming up to Samuel? Oh boy, that would just make things even more complicated.

When will the next chapter be? I'm not stupid enough to tell you guys and die from your torches and pitchforks.

* * *

**Individual responses (my wrists are prepared!): **

**TigerLily21: **Lol, nope, haven't even heard of , sorry. But as for James and Sirius, they say hello to you too!

**Kt: **Thanks, kt! I'm glad you loved it D

**James and Lily 4eva: **Sorry that the update wasn't that soon… quite the contrary really. But unfortunately, neither James broke up with Ameile nor Lily broke up with Ethan. I guess we'll just have to sit back and wait, ne?

**Cilverblood**Ouch. Well I hope you didn't die the day after you reviewed because then you would never have read this chapter! I'm honored that I'm one of the authors who got such a long review! Honestly, the longer, the better. As for 'blessed hell,' I never knew hell could be blessed. I'm sure the devil doesn't appreciate it though. To answer your question, I'm almost positive that Lily and James will die. Sorry! And as for Remus and Ameile? Well, you guys will just have to wait.

**Flower of ****Scotland**Thanks lots for reviewing this fic and my art. Yes, I did say that will be posting up the Glade Scene pic thingy, when I get the chance. I still have to give it the finishing touches. I haven't had any time for myself or my family for that matter because of my schoolwork. And I'm glad I still have James and Sirius after all this time, they're the perfect angry-reader-proof shield! Got to go now, before the angry mob runs me over.

**Sweet Sarcasm: **Indeed, I wish the guy I liked would notice me…unfortunately I've only exchanged five sentences with him the most throughout this past school year…-glares-

**Strawberry Promises: **Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, anime is so awesome. My favorite is Inuyasha so far. I'll try to read your fanfics, but I can't promise anything okay? Sorry!

**Jasminee**LoL, okay, Jas, you're welcome to skip over the boring parts whenever you want. See you in Zoology and Physics! ; )

**Lily Natalia Evans: **Yeah! That must have been one of my most suspenseful chapters. The excitement level went down a bit in this one, but I have plenty more to come.

**Chelle****-Lynn: **Aww, well I'm sorry that my inaccurate information displeases you. Guess I can't be that perfect, ne? And thanks for the info about the proper gestation period. Thanks for your review!

**Animalluvr75: **At least Lily's over the burns. The only thing right now that's irritating her is James, or should I say Samuel?

**Misakichi1: **Lol, I feel the same. Fortunately for me I'm not the shortest girl in my class.

**Moviechika**Ah, but if it weren't for that letter then James wouldn't be with Lily right now, would he? ; )

**FallenFlower**Okay, sure ) I'm glad you have that much faith in me to say that the chapter's great without reading it yet, lol.

**MiSs**** WeStHoFf HeRsElF: **Thanks for your review! D

**Dee**Ah, I'm sure James is happy though that he has an excuse to be with Lily.

**Skittles in Aqua: **Haha, have you ever thought of contacting with the people who make them to give them your ideas? That would be cool if they actually had blue raspberry! xD

**Funnykido**True, that's why I'm making the two go throughout all these obstacles to get together. -sigh- I'm just a coldhearted bitch, aren't I?

**Whitepaw**Yes, Remus will have his own girl to love and cherish, but he won't be meeting her that soon. Give it some time. But, yes, you've met her already! And you were right! James has come to protect his fair maiden…too bad since Lily doesn't even know it's him.

**Gryffspopgurl**Hahaha, thanks. Yeah, I know, and as a matter of fact James isn't too keen on the name either. Personally, he thinks that Moody did it on purpose.

**Ruth3: **Howlers?! -gasp!- -hides behind James- He'll protect me P

**Dragonhp1116: **Well, Arwen, I don't think Lily will be hurt too soon. You don't have to worry that much over her, actually. It's James I'd be more worried about -dun dun duuun-

**Lissy**Yup, you're not the only one who's curious as to who Remus will be with. So far I have, I think, two people who think that he's going to end up with Ameile. Maybe, maybe not. And as for the darkness…well this chapter wasn't that dark…but yup, the others will be!

**Fate's Fallen Angel: **I'm glad you think James is hot… he is, really. -smiles at the James she is currently holding hostage- And wow! The whole wall of 'UPDATE!' really scared me! Thanks so much for reviewing! Oh and no, I don't live in Asia. I wish though, it would make buying anime that much cheaper.

**Celestial Night: **Hey! I hope your sister was wrong in saying that you're scared of me…I'm not scary, really (I'm even shorter than you for crying out loud! You can stomp on me for all I can do)…only my imagination is scary (ask your sister). Sorry for the long update! The devil made me do it. -shifty eyes-

**Harrycrazy432: **Your welcome )

**Seilin**Wow! Eleven and your mom gets mad at you for staying up that late? I'm lucky if I can sleep by 1 a.m. with all the homework I have! (School ends at _4:30_ for me, sucks..) Well I'm glad you love my style! Thanks mucho.

**ZebraStripedFlamingo**Thanks for looking at my pix! Oh, and about James getting hurt? Well, it is bound to happen sooner or later ; )

**Snazzysnez**Ah sorry! I must have missed your name somehow, so so sorry! Thanks for adding me to your favorite list!

**Jen: **Glad you liked that quote, I have a great time writing Sirius's lines, he does have the best ones. Not to mention that our sense of 'humor' is very similar, so sometimes it's kinda like me saying it xD

**FoREvEr**** ends: **Oh when Lily and James are going to get together? My, not for some time… he does wish that I'd hurry it up a bit though..

**Loves to Read: **Hahaha, I'm glad you love them. I do have fun writing in those comments, it adds the necessary comic relief in the story. Sorry that the threat scared you! But I can't promise that there'll be no more scary things ; )

**Cherry: **Well the powder hit mostly her face and neck, but don't worry Lily is currently recovering fully. And as for Samuel? Yeah, you're not the only not too keen on the name. James hates it! LoL. But of course, I just _love_ to torture him. And yup, I do like guys with shoulder-length hair, it's okay I wasn't offended! As long as it's tied back… and damn, but do I love guys with long bangs… it just gives them that cool, mysterious look -swoons-

**Singer: **Yup, some people are actually starting to sympathize with Ameile, the poor dear. And the whole new identity thing? I have to admit that idea just came out of the blue, just like this whole bodyguard/babysitter thing. )

**Oliverwoodschic**Oh, he's with Lily right now -winks- He still feels hurt about Lily accusing him of being a potential raper though.

**Cookiegirl90: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Lj4ever:** Oh, Sirius is already with his darling Arabella. And I'm sorry that I'm such a crappy writer and update so slowly… ( Thanks for all your 'update's though!

**Arwenundomneil**Ah, it will take some time, my dear.. some time indeed before the destined couple will be together.

**Dee**I just did! LoL

**Bluestar8917: **LoL, is it just me, or does it seem that Ethan doesn't really try to get in touch with Lily that much?

**Firewalker32: **Thanks for your review!

**Ih8u4ever: **Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it!

**Fire Faerie: **Thanks for putting me on your alert list. And I'm happy that I get to help out with your reading ; )

**Raisse**Thanks for all your reviews, I really like it when people review each chapter individually. It gives me a more in-depth account of what they like and dislike with my story. I'm glad you love it )

**Anna: **Wow, that's truly a compliment! Thank you so much.

**SlippersRfuzzy**Thanks lots!

**Dimpi**Thanks for your review!

**Rebellious socks: **Lol, yours was probably the only one-word review I've had, but it still told me a lot! Thanks!

**Lils33: **Ah! So sorry, yeah I'm such a nuisance when it comes to updating…-bows head in shame- Everyone does have her own flaws.

**Nr1bookworm: **Thanks for all your critical reviews! Yeah, tenses sometimes trip me up… maybe Mr. Hathaway will take care of that? Which reminds me, I should be reading Great Gatsby…nah. Thanks lots, I'll see you in lit!

**Tigerlily65: **Nah, not really years, I wouldn't go that far…maybe…

**Shiveringsapphires**Ooh, I like sapphires…anyway, don't worry, I'm not quitting on this story!

**Piper-Loves-Leo: **LoL, don't worry. You're not the only one who's not into Ameile.

**Delany**** Audri Potter: **Hmm… close but not quite. I actually just love the number 16. )

**Forever Optimistic: **Oh dear, I do hope that you did read the other 8 chapters that I already posted.

**Cynical Romantic Lass: **Thanks for your review, I'm glad you like my art!

* * *

Well, I _am _curious as to what you have to say to me…reviews, compliments, dislikes, howlers, the like… ; ) 


	11. The Calm before the Storm

**Romance in the Hospital Wing**

**By Wo Ai Ni16 **

**Chapter 10: The Calm before the Storm**

x

* * *

x

Lily slowly felt her eyes open. '_Now this is what I call a good morning.' _She snuggled further into her warm pillow. '_...' _Now that's funny. Last time she checked, pillows didn't have a heartbeat. Lily moved her hand up and down the pillow. Nor did pillows have six-packs. A sudden realization hit her. '_Don't you dare tell me...' _Lily lifted her head to see the person next to her. Ah, what a heavenly sight: Samuel was laying down next to her in his half-naked glory. If only he were James, then it would truly be a sight from heaven. Pity Lily's temper didn't make her notice any of these things. The redhead used a strength that would've made any Amazon warrior woman proud and shoved Samuel off her bed. "You bloody pervert! _I _need protection from _you_!"

"Ahh! Lily, it's not what it looks like!" The brown-haired man quickly scurried away from the bed, desperate to escape from her wrath.

"What do you mean 'it's not what it looks like'?" Lily lifted the pillow above her head and tried to pound it on James's head. Damn, but he was already out of her reach! James took this opportunity to stand up and ran out of the bedroom. '_Hmm... So he likes smiley-face boxers?' _Lily shook her head. "Argh, come back here and fight me like a man, you coward!"

'_Damn, that redhead is scary! Hell, all of them are, but even Ameile isn't this bad!' _James quickly turned to the bathroom and quickly locked himself in.

Seconds later he could hear Lily pounding on the door. "Damn it, Sam, get out here!"

"No can do, Lilykins, nature calls!" He flushed the toilet for an added effect.

"'Nature calls' my arse! Get out here, I need to use the bathroom!"

"That lie's not going to work, Lily-dear!" While he was at it, James stripped himself of his boxers and stepped inside the shower. Well, he might as well take a bath since he was in here, right?

Lily heard the water and groaned. Before long she could hear him singing. Terribly out of tune. "Ugh, fine, stay there!" She stomped off.

Inside the shower, James smirked to himself. '_Who would've guessed that Lily would look like the perfect temptress in blood-red lingerie?' _Now that was a sight to remember.

Lily stomped up the stairs that led to Megan's wing. She knocked on the door. Her friend's tried face greeted her.

"Lily, this better be good. You know I'm not a morning person."

"I'm sorry, Megan, but Sam locked me out of my bathroom. Can I use yours?"

Megan covered her mouth as she yawned before nodding. "Yeah sure. Go right ahead."

"Thanks." Lily walked into the room. Megan absentmindedly stared after her friend.

'_Wait a minute...' _Her eyes widened. She was instantly awake. "Err... Lily?"

Her friend turned around. "Yeah?"

"You mean to tell me that Samuel saw you in _that_?" She pointed to Lily's attire.

Lily blinked and looked down. "Oh my God!" Her lingerie was very short and covered very little, not that it helped much since it was practically see-through. "SAMUEL!" The entire floor shook.

In the opposite room James laughed and wrapped a towel around his waist. Oh yes, today was going to be a very good day.

x

* * *

x

"I swear, that man is going to be the death of me!" Lily groaned to herself and transferred the pile of clean bedsheets in the cabinet.

Megan giggled. "Oh, but wouldn't it be a lovely way to die, Lily?" A glare was her reply.

"Need I remind you, Megan, that I already have a fiancé. I still can't imagine how Ethan would've agreed to letting that man stay with me. It's a total invasion of privacy!"

"But it's for your own good, Lily. You know how things are getting worse now."

Lily sighed. Yes, things have gotten worse. It was already a month since she received her first death threat. The letters were getting increasingly threatening. "I know. But that doesn't mean that I have to enjoy a single minute of this."

"Well, he's gone now."

"Yes, but only for awhile. He just left to get back to the Ministry. He was mumbling something under his breath. It sounded like 'updates.'"

"I guess they need all the Aurors right now. I sense a battle brewing."

Lily shivered and sat down. Indeed, things have been getting too calm for her. It was the proverbial calm before the storm. "I sense that too."

x

* * *

x

"Where the hell is Potter!" Moody roared once more.

"My, what a lovely day it is today," Dumbledore said happily, staring out the window.

"I need him here, NOW! Sirius, where is he?" The elderly Auror turned his head sharply to the young wizard before him.

Sirius yawned as he turned over another page of the magazine. A beautiful blonde witch wearing the scantiest of clothing winked up at him from the page. _PlayWizard_ _Magazine, for all the magic loving that you need._ His eyes skimmed down the girl's chest. "Interesting... I didn't know they came in that size."

Beside him, Remus slapped a hand to his forehead. "Sirius, you'll be in big trouble if Bella catches you looking at that magazine."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong Remus my boy. You see, there's this enchantment that I cast so that whenever someone else besides me picks it up, it changes into an innocent muggle magazine."

"You're very thorough, aren't you?"

"Yes. And I'm glad to say that I'm a very thorough lover as well." Dumbledore chuckled to himself at Sirius's comment.

"You know that wasn't what I meant, Sirius."

The four wizards turned around as James walked into the room.

"POTTER! There you are! Where the hell have you been, you know this week is important! Voldemort can be carrying out his last-minute plans while we're doing _nothing_!"

"Sorry, got sidetracked."

"Come over here! I need you to confirm our latest plan of attack."

"Yes, sir."

While the two men were debating with each other in the background, Sirius fought another yawn and turned another page. This meeting was sooo boring! He was already halfway through his magazine! "Oooh." His eyebrows raised as he turned the magazine to get a better angle. "Now that's what I call a nice set of—"

"Don't even say it, Sirius." Remus muttered.

"What? I wasn't going to say anything bad." He turned the magazine slightly to the left. A practically naked witch graced the page, winking at him seductively. "Yes. Now that's what I call a well-endowed woman."

"Sirius can you just let go of that magazine for one second?" His comments were becoming very irritating.

"No can do Remus my boy."

"Will you stop calling me that!" Remus groaned and sunk down further into his seat. Beside him, Dumbledore began twiddling his thumbs.

"Damn! Look at these goods, Remus!"

"I don't want to see it, Sirius—Ack!" The magazine was shoved into his face. He opened his eyes and was met by the two-dimensional cleavage of the magazine girl. He pushed the magazine off his face and blushed. "Quit it, Sirius!"

"So you _are_ attracted to women!" Sirius gave a dramatic sigh of relief. "Thank God, Remus. I was beginning to get scared that you were gay! That would make finding a partner for you so much harder."

Remus growled and picked up the pillow on the couch and shoved it into Sirius's face.

"Will you two boys stop it and do something useful! Come here and give us some suggestions, we need to finish this plan tonight!"

Sirius coughed and took the pillow off his face. "Women." He said to Moody.

"What?"

"Women. Lots of them. We can use the women as a distraction. Better yet, we should use veelas."

"What the hell are you talking about, Black?"

"I'm being perfectly serious here! The Ministry should hire veelas to seduce the Death Eaters! Then, when those stupid bastards are too busy breathing down the veelas' necks we can stupefy them and bring them to Azkaban! Voldemort can't attack if his men are too busy chasing after veelas, right?"

The men in the room stared at him.

"But then again," Sirius began mumbling to himself. "This plan won't work if they're gay. I mean, I always did think that their uniforms were too feminine. Or would the veelas still work anyway? But what about the female Death Eaters? I think I can try and seduce them. Yes, that should work..."

"Sirius," Moody growled.

Hopeful eyes turned to his superior. "Yes? Genius isn't it?"

"Get out."

Sirius grumbled and picked up his magazine. "Fine!" He shouted, brandishing the PlayWizard Magazine in front of Moody's crooked nose like an angry wand. "But I'm telling you, the veelas work! Death Eaters or not, men are men, and they'll chase after anything with a nice pair of legs and breasts!"

The auror stomped out of the office, leaving the rest of the men to stare after him.

James gave a low whistle. "Well, Sirius has been under a lot of stress lately."

"No, I think he just cracked James." Remus answered back.

"Well that too. Or maybe he's just really sexually frustrated. Poor Bella must still be mad at him."

"Yes, that too."

Dumbledore chuckled to himself. "Actually, I thought his plan was quite interesting. I think it might be the most effective attack we came up with yet."

Moody's jaw dropped, making his face more angular. "Albus, not you too."

x

* * *

x

"Ms. Evans?" Madam Pomfrey asked from the door.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I need you to cover a patient for me while I go downstairs. Hagrid had another accident while feeding his hippogriffs."

"Sure, I'll be right there." Lily turned to Megan. "Will you be okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll manage by myself. We were almost done anyway."

"Alright, but I'll be back as soon as I can."

Megan began humming to herself as she checked the vitals of a sleeping patient. 'Tap-tap.'

Turning around sharply at the sound, Megan gasped upon seeing the raven perched in front of the window.

"Not again," she whispered, seeing the letter tied to its feet. The raven continued to tap the window with its beak. Fighting against her growing dread, Megan walked up and opened the window. She immediately united the letter and quickly shooed the bird away.

Megan looked around before she shoved the thick parchment envelope into her robes. It's been three weeks now and the letters have gotten worse. Now Voldemort was not only sending them to her room in Hogwarts but also started sending them to her workplace. Luckily, Megan was able to find all of the letters before Lily saw them and quickly hid them. She had to find a way to dispose of them. Megan couldn't afford any more singed hands.

x

* * *

x

James groaned to himself and shoved his hands down his pockets. '_Damn Moody and his meetings; they always ruin my happy mood.' _He sighed to himself and continued walking down the street, letting the crowd move him to and fro.

"James, there you are!"

"Ameile, hey..."

The redhead bounced up to the man and hooked one of her arms around his. "I've been looking for you for ages now! Where've you been?"

"Just off to Headquarters. Moody's planning an offensive attack now. He needed us to smooth things over."

Ameile stepped back and looked up at him. "Listen, James, I think we need to talk."

Her serious tone made James shiver inside. "Err... about what?" He looked around them. They were in a crowded street in Diagon Alley, not really the best place for a girlfriend-boyfriend love spat.

Ameile cupped James's cheek and made him look at her. "About us..."

x

* * *

x

A skinny skeletal hand picked up a champagne glass. Snake-like eyes narrowed in malice. The pitiful excuse of a man before him cowered in fear. "You'd better not disappoint me this time, Pettigrew."

The man let out a squeak and began wringing his hands in a nervous gesture. How pathetic. "N-not at all, m-my l-lord!"

"Then start talking. You're wasting my patience."

"The men are stationed now throughout London and Diagon Alley. Malfoy and Black are staying in Knockturn Alley to await your orders, m-my lord."

"And Nott?"

"He's at Hogwarts right now, trying to test its security to find a path inside."

"And what about the Evans family?"

"The preparations have been made, my lord."

"Excellent, Pettigrew. Everything's going according to plan. Now all we have to do is wait until the timing is right. Then, we attack."

x

* * *

x

"Damn it, why didn't she break up with me? Better yet, why didn't _I _break up with _her_?" James growled and punched the wall. It was solid stone. "Oww, bloody hell!"

"What are you doing now, James?" Ahh, so his temptress finally decided to make her appearance.

"Lily-love, there you are!" James rushed forward and crushed her in a bear hug.

"Ahh, James, I missed you too. Now, get off me!" Lily tried to push him away to no avail. "Ugh, you're so heavy! Get off!"

James beamed and held her at arm's length. "Come on, I already talked to Madam Pomfrey."

"About what?"

"About you getting the rest of the day off and spending it with me."

"For what?" An incredulous look met her reply.

"For fun of course!" She still looked unconvinced. "Aww, come on, Lils! For old time's sake."

Lily quirked an eyebrow. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Would you come if I said yes?"

She sighed then smiled. "Okay. Wait for me downstairs while I change."

"Yes!" James whooped and jumped in the air.

"Alright, Jamesie," Sirius said, appearing suddenly by his side. "James is gonna get some tonight!"

"Shut up!"

"No he isn't!" Came Lily's voice from the hallway. "I heard that, Sirius!"

x

* * *

x

"Oh my God, James! I can't believe you did that!" Lily giggled, feeling like a little schoolgirl as she playfully slapped his shoulder.

"What can I say, once a marauder, always a marauder."

"But still! Did you see the look on his face when he found out what he was drinking? That was too much, James!"

He laughed along and wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. To his surprise, she didn't pull away. Instead, she snuggled further into his embrace. It was nice, how perfect they fit together. The couple continued walking through Hogsmeade and started their trek back up the castle.

"I really had a great time today, James." There was a light blush staining her cheeks.

A soft smile lit his face. "I aim to please, Lils."

"Now don't let it get to your head."

"Aww, Lils, you just had to ruin the romantic mood."

"Romantic? What are you talking about, James?"

"Why, isn't this a date?"

"A date between _friends_."

He snorted.

Lily glared at him. "What, you're actually thinking we're a couple again? Need I remind you that—"

"Don't even mention _his_ name."

Lily sighed. "James, we went through this already."

"Whatever. As far as I'm concerned, you're still fair game."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Do you or do you not have a girlfriend?"

A moment of silence. Then: "I'm breaking up with her." His tone was serious.

That made Lily stop in her tracks. "What?"

James continued walking and looked over his shoulder at her. She looked positively guilty. "I'm breaking up wither her," he repeated again with a tone of finality.

"Why on Earth would you do that?" She sounded almost panicky.

James shrugged. "I don't love her."

"You don't love her?" Lily's jaw dropped. She looked furious. "Then why in the world are you with her?"

"Why in the world are you with Ethan?"

"W-what?" Lily sputtered. She shook her head in frustration. "Argh, James, don't evade the question! Why are you with Ameile then?"

He shrugged again. How can he be so calm? "I thought I could get over you..."

Lily's shoulders slumped. "James..."

He turned around. "I didn't know that I would get to see you again, Lils. So when Ameile came... she reminded me so much of you. I thought I could—"

"James, stop." Lily could feel tears coming to her eyes. "Just stop, please."

"Lily..." James walked to her and wrapped her in an intimate embrace.

At first, Lily tensed before melting into his arms. The tears started running down her cheeks at her heartfelt realization. '_I still love him... What am I going to do?' _

James rested his chin on top of her head and began to rock themselves back and forth in a comforting motion. "I'm sorry, Lils, but I just can't let you go." The two stayed in that embrace for some time before separating.

Lily felt a need to reply to him. "Just...just give me some time, James, okay?"

He smiled down at her. "I'm willing to wait forever for you, Lils." He used his thumb to wipe off her tears. "Now come on, I don't want to see you crying. I'm supposed to be cheering you up, remember? Come on." Without warning, James lifted her up and placed her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

"Ahh! James, put me down!" Lily shrieked and began slapping his back, making sure not to hit his butt.

He laughed and began running up the hill, undeterred from Lily's weightless body.

She couldn't help but laugh along with him. For once, she didn't care that she looked like a complete idiot being carried on James's back. Instantly, it seemed as if all her troubles were lifted off her shoulders. James had an uncanny ability to do that.

And boy did she love him for it.

x

* * *

x

Lily giggled as James lifted her up into the air. It was so wonderful to feel carefree, even if it was only for a day. The past two months have been too stressful for her. The couple was interrupted by a cough from Megan. Lily blushed at having been caught, as if she and James were doing something other than dancing. "What is it Megan?"

The MediWitch looked at her apprehensively and took out a letter. It was sealed from the Ministry of Magic.

James stopped the silence. "What is it?"

Megan's lips trembled and she looked down at the floor. She held out the letter. "It's your family, Lily."

Lily's smile immediately faded. '_No, please no...' _She didn't need Megan's next words to confirm her suspicions.

"They were attacked."

x

x

* * *

x

Yay, I updated before my deadline! So there's the complete Chapter 10. If you think that the second half of this chapter is below par (which I hope you don't) then blame it on physics. Yes, I finished this chapter in my physics class. While sitting right in front of the teacher might I add. Sigh. Who cares about Ohm's Law and electric circuits, anyway? Especially since my trimester average is already a 97.8... Yes, now I'm just showing off. I'll shut up now.

But back to this fic: things will pick up a lot faster from here. If things carry out the way I planned, there will be more violence and things will start getting grimmer. And yes, Lily will soon come to her senses and ditch Ethan. And yes, James will dump Ameile. Ah, the joys of love during a war. Isn't it romantic?

So tataa for now and a great big thanks to all those who supported me through their reviews and howlers. Yes, that includes the readers who threatened me as well.

And as for those who _still _haven't bothered to review this fic... I'm watching you o.o Lol. Seriously though, I hope you review sometime during this fanfic.

Much love,

-Wo

x

* * *

x

x

It's a proven fact that my muse thrives on reviews. So review please, the poor dear is starving.

x

x

x


End file.
